Agriculture as panacea to Nigeria’s growth

Although generally, food production has been growing and developing over the past two decades, that of Nigeria seems to be sliding dawn hill.

In other to answer the question why hunger still exist in Nigeria, it becomes instructive to note that the food crisis in Nigeria arose note because the country’s natural resources have been exhausted, but because of the complicated system of economic, social and political factors endemic with our state of the nation. Nigeria as a matter of urgency needs to develop strategies to achieve self-reliance. When we talk of self reliance, we are talking of the strategic areas of the economy.

In the case of food production, what would a country’s sovereignty means, if the citizens of such a country depend helplessly on other nations for their basic food items? Your guess is as good as mine. What needs to be done now is for all the states and Local Government tap into the opportunities in agriculture rather than rely on Federal allocation in other to come out of their present economic woes.

Nigeria abandoning of agriculture was a grievous crime, therefore, immediately reverting to agriculture will be the only panacea to Nigeria’s present economic problems.

It is a thing of joy now that the present administration under the leadership of Buhari has taken agriculture to be a very important economic development option- what we need is a sustainable policy that will be long lasting so as to be able to improve agriculture in the country.

Before the discovery of oil in Nigeria, agriculture was the mainstay of the economy. Infact in the first Republic it contributed up to 60 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

With the crash in the price of our single major revenue earner-petroleum, on the international market Nigeria became one of the Nations that suffered worst.

In 2016, the Federal Government developed a plan to revive agriculture and make it as the major revenue earner, with the introduction of the Green Alternative Road map. The policy aimed at reducing to it barest minimum, reliance on imported food. Its fundamental objectives  include stimulating agriculture export which has the dual advantages of earning foreign exchange for the country and also achieving food self-sufficient and thereby rural progress.