{"id":35331,"date":"2019-10-16T15:15:52","date_gmt":"2019-10-16T14:15:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/?p=35331"},"modified":"2019-10-16T15:15:52","modified_gmt":"2019-10-16T14:15:52","slug":"world-food-day-expert-advocates-increased-funding-in-agric","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/world-food-day-expert-advocates-increased-funding-in-agric\/","title":{"rendered":"World Food Day: Expert Advocates Increased Funding In Agric"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prof. Veronica Obatolu, the Executive Director, Institute of Agricultural Research and Training Ibadan, has called for Federal Government\u2019s increased investment in agriculture to create jobs for youths in the country.<\/p>\n

The Executive Director made the call in an interview with the\u00a0News Agency of Nigeria<\/em>\u00a0on Wednesday in Ibadan as Nigeria joins the world to celebrate the 2019 World Food Day.<\/p>\n

She said that the government\u2019s increased funding of the sector would improve small scale farmers\u2019 productivity and income through value chain development and encouragement of farmers\u2019 cooperative groups.<\/p>\n

Obatolu said that the closure of the border by the Federal Government gave room for consumers to seek alternatives in locally produced food items, thereby, improving farmers\u2019 incomes.<\/p>\n

According to her, it will improve the livelihood of farmers which can subsequently result in job and wealth creation.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor example, one of my friends told me that someone gave her Ofada rice about a year ago, she just kept it somewhere with the impression that it was not as good as the imported rice.<\/p>\n

\u201cFortunately, due to the recent ban, she was forced to try the Ofada rice and to her surprise, it has better taste and says even if the ban is lifted, she will never go back to the polished imported rice,\u2019\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n

She, however, urged research scientists to look how to completely get rid of the stones, saying the effect of the ban would bring an increase in price and reduction in the purchase of imported food items.<\/p>\n

The Provost, Federal College of Agriculture, Ibadan, Dr Babajide Adelekan called for urgent need to ensure increased funding of the food sector by the federal and state governments.<\/p>\n

Adelekan said that Nigerians should embrace the government\u2019s removal of import duties on tractors and agricultural machines, saying this would speed up mechanisation of the country\u2019s agriculture.<\/p>\n

He said improved access to agricultural loans should be ensured through the passing of legislation, which should be given at lower interest rates.<\/p>\n

The provost said that close monitoring should be done to ensure that such loans were used for agricultural purposes.<\/p>\n

\u201cLegislation should also establish and insist on a minimum benchmark for agricultural loans in the overall loan portfolio of a bank.<\/p>

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\u201cDoing these and others will assist the country to improve food production to feed the population, and fibre production to feed the industries with an attendant increase in the overall performance of our economy.<\/p>\n

\u201cMechanised agriculture is capital intensive and the typical Nigerian farmer simply does not have the resources to execute that entirely on his or her own.<\/p>\n

\u201cTherefore, as a matter of policy, agro service centres should have the full range of agricultural machines and equipment, seeds, fertilisers, agrochemicals and other essential agricultural inputs be established in every agriculturally based local government in Nigeria.<\/p>\n

\u201cFarmers within the local government can then approach these agro service centres to rent machines and other equipment at highly subsidised rates to conduct their farming activities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said that agricultural personnel should also be available at these centres to render proper extension services to farmers.<\/p>\n

The South-West Vice President, Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, Mr Victor Korede, said the border closure served as a balancing scale that had revealed the true worth of the country.<\/p>\n

Korede said that the Federal Government\u2019s Anchor Borrowers Programme to empower the farmers had boosted rice production in South-West in the last one year.<\/p>\n

\u201cRice farmers are now in farms around the year which had not been before. We have also seen the government through its life programme constructed small scale rice mill in some states,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

NAN<\/em>\u00a0reports that World Food Day annually marked on October 16 is aimed at tackling global hunger.<\/p>\n

UN Food and Agriculture Organisation said in a statement it was released ahead of the day.<\/p>\n

FAO said shifting to a healthier diet by eating more seasonal fruits and vegetables and reducing the consumption of junk food could help in meeting the \u2018zero hunger\u2019 goal of the UN-mandated Sustainable Development Goals.<\/p>\n

(NAN)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prof. Veronica Obatolu, the Executive Director, Institute of Agricultural Research and Training Ibadan, has called for Federal Government\u2019s increased investment in agriculture to create jobs for youths in the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":21288,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,1593,17,624],"tags":[6284,6285,6283],"coauthors":[2391],"class_list":["post-35331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-business","category-metro","category-news","category-politics","tag-dr-babajide-adelekan","tag-prof-veronica-obatolu","tag-world-food-day"],"yoast_head":"\nWorld Food Day: Expert Advocates Increased Funding In Agric - National Wire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/world-food-day-expert-advocates-increased-funding-in-agric\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"World Food Day: Expert Advocates Increased Funding In Agric - 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