Osinbajo
Vice President, Yemi Osinbanjo, on Tuesday, observed that amid tight fiscal revenue generation, especially in the States of the Federation, agriculture can be a significant contributor to government coffers, boosting resource mobilisation as all it takes is the hard work and dedication of all stakeholders in the sector.
He made the assertion while interacting with a delegation from the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission, who was on a courtesy visit to him at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Speaking after listening to a presentation on the Commission’s framework for sustainable agricultural transformation in the states, Prof Osinbajo said that “agriculture can be the solution to a lot of our IGR needs and a lot of our resource needs; it has been proven so many times that it is possible.”
According to a statement issued by his spokesman, Laolu Akande, the vice president referenced what was obtainable in the 1950s and 60s in the agricultural sector in the then regional governments, noting that “the truth of the matter is that the difference between then and now is the political will. There is no question at all that there is far more information today than there was then but someone has to have the will to do it.
“There is no question at all, that any part of Nigeria if there is sufficient dedication and hard work, can feed the entire country. There are smaller countries not up to the size of one State in Nigeria that are producing enough and exporting produce to other parts of the world.”
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The Vice President also acknowledged the importance of private sector collaboration in transforming agriculture but emphasized the need for stakeholders to focus on research and development, noting that the progress made by some countries of the world, especially in the area of commercial farming have been hinged on research.
According to him, “obviously, what will take us out of the woods and make us relevant in terms of export and even in terms of satisfying local demands is commercial farming.”
Addressing the concern raised about challenges in developing the agriculture value chain, the VP said “there must be a way of perfecting the value chain and ensure that the value chain actually works.
“Of course, it involves logistics, transportation, credit facility, etc. A lot more attention needs to be paid to how that value chain works. No matter how much you are producing, if you don’t work on the value chain, you will just be wasting a lot of the resources.”
With respect to government policy, Prof. Osinbajo said “we have been doing a lot of work with agro-export in particular. One of the problems that we are faced with is even with the whole process of exporting. We are addressing the problem, we have had several meetings with agro exporters. It is among the issues that we are trying to pay attention to.”
The Vice President then commended the DAWN Commission for its efforts, noting that “the work that the commission is doing is seminal. It is work not just for the present but perhaps for the future of the South-West region and of course of the entire nation.”
Earlier in his remarks, the Director-General of DAWN, Mr Seye Oyeleye, briefed Osinbajo on the efforts made over the years, reporting that the commission has developed blueprints for the development of the health and education sectors in the 6 states of the South-West.
He also cited the revitalisation of cocoa production and the framework for sustainable agricultural transformation in the region, among achievements recorded by the commission in the 9 years of its establishment.
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With hard work by stakeholders, agriculture can increase government finances ― Osinbajo
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