FG to ensure food security and export of Agriculture products- Chairman, AMMC

FG to ensure food security and export of Agriculture products- Chairman, AMMC

‎Olabode Adaramola, Minna

Nigerians have been assured of the Federal Government’s efforts in ensuring food security and export of Agriculture products even as the Chairman of Advisory Ministerial Mechanisation Committee( AMMC) Dr Ahmed Dele Adekunle receives fellowship of the Nigerian Institution of Agricultural Engineers NIAE.

The Coordinator/Director of the National Programme on Food Security NPFS Kevin Tekpat who represented the Minister of Agriculture Mr Audu Ogbe yesterday at the 37th annual national conference and general meeting of NIAE where Dr. Adekunle received the Fellowship of the body; noted that government is intensifying effort in improving productivity of priority export products.

He stated that, government is adopting deliberate policies to use agriculture as an alternative to oil as it is used to be before the advent of oil through the programme of green alternative.

Tekpat therefore stated that government is addressing the shortage of main food crops like rice, wheat, maize, beans and soya beans among other agricultural products to ensure that importation of food is stopped while

Nigerians have been assured of the Federal Government’s efforts in ensuring food security and export of Agriculture products even as the Chairman of Advisory Ministerial Mechanisation Committee( AMMC) Dr Ahmed Dele Adekunle receives fellowship of the Nigerian Institution of Agricultural Engineers NIAE.

The Coordinator/Director of the National Programme on Food Security NPFS Kevin Tekpat who represented the Minister of Agriculture Mr Audu Ogbe yesterday at the 37th annual national conference and general meeting of NIAE where Dr. Adekunle received the Fellowship of the body; noted that government is intensifying effort in improving productivity of priority export products.

He stated that, government is adopting deliberate policies to use agriculture as an alternative to oil as it is used to be before the advent of oil through the programme of green alternative.

Tekpat therefore stated that government is addressing the shortage of main food crops like rice, wheat, maize, beans and soya beans among other agricultural products to ensure that importation of food is stopped while encouraging export through mechanized agriculture.

According to him the role of Agriculture Engineers in mechanization, land management, irrigation and other infrastructure in the realization of these core agriculture objectives cannot be over emphasized; hence the Minister of Agriculture holds Agriculture Engineers to high esteem and looking forward to them in sustaining agricultural production through mechanization .

The National Coordinator of Food Security, however pointed out that the role of the government was to provide enabling environment but the task of driving the process depended largely ion the private sectors initiatives with more investment in mechanized agriculture.

The Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology FUT Minna, Prof. Akinwumi Akanbi decried the apathy of students to agricultural courses in the schools which needed to be addressed; adding that few students usually apply to read agricultural courses.

The conference included the investiture of Dr. Adekunle as the Fellow NIAE for his contribution to agricultural development in the country which were chiefly his role as the Chairman of AMMC that midwives the establishment of 111 units of private sector driven agricultural equipment hiring set up with 505 units of tractors and other planting harvest and post harvest equipments.

It was also noted in the citation that, Dr. Adekunle as the chairman of the committee helped universities with some farming machineries to improve the skills of engineering students in the field of agriculture.