A senior lecturer at the Department of Agricultural Extension & Rural Development, University of Ibadan, Professor Mohammed Kuta Yahaya has said that Nigeria relied on agricultural products to sustain the economy during the Covid -19 pandemic when the lockdown period lasted in the country, emphasizing that agriculture is the only alternative to oil & gas in Nigeria.
Prof Yahaya, a professor of Agricultural Extension & Development Communication and an erstwhile Secretary to the Niger State Government (SSG) in the immediate past administration of Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, made the observation on Friday at the Combined 28th Convocation Lecture of the State’s College of Education, Minna, with the Theme: Covid -19 Pandemic and Nigerian Education System: What Lessons?
At the pre-convocation lecture delivered at Etsu Yahaya Abubakar Lecture Theatre, Niger State College of Education, Minna he noted that “over 39 million children were out of school in Nigeria which adds to already 13.5 million already out of school children before the pandemic.
Prof. Kuta Yahaya however advocated that Nigeria must harness its potentials in agriculture and solid minerals to boost its economy maximally, just as he attributed the current food scarcity in the country to the impacts of Covid-19 pandemic and the criminal activities of armed bandits bedevilling Nigeria in some Northern States of the country.
According to him, “Covid -19 pandemic directly affected restriction of movement on food supply chain as 49 per cent farmers could not access customers, 96per cent of traders faced difficulties recovering debt and 56 per cent of the farming population had no access to markets, while the cost of transportation increased by 40per cent “.
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