Agric minister craves for younger generation of farmers

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, has stated the need to bring in the youth into agriculture and to make the sector viable so that the younger generation would find it attractive.

The Minister said this over the weekend when he received the Australian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Jonathan Richardson, in the ministry. The minister expressed his desire to make agriculture more attractive to the young people, stressing the need to replace the older farmers with young Nigerians.

“A large population of the youth in agriculture is an asset to production,” Ogbeh said.

The Minister, who recognised Australia as one of the biggest players in livestock and animal production, sought for more areas of co-operation between Nigeria and the country.

He identified the training of young people in agriculture, the need to engage students in more practical agriculture and involvement of agricultural institutes in more research and production as a better way of repositioning the agricultural sector in Nigeria.

Ogbeh, expressed the need to improve cattle breeding and milk production in Nigeria, so as to improve the mental health of Nigerian children. He said it has become imperative to develop and improve pastures for animals to reduce the migration system of moving animals. He said Nigeria would improve wheat production capacity to reduce importation and assured the High Commissioner of Nigeria’s readiness to co-operate with Australia.

The Australian High Commissioner, Jonathan Richardson, said Australia had offered post-graduate scholarships in the past to Nigerian students in specialized areas of agriculture like Post-Harvest management, saying over 44 persons had benefitted.

Richardson said Australia had the technical expertise in wheat production and was in the ministry to discuss the new areas of co-operation.

The Minister also received a delegation from the African Development Bank (AfDB) led by the sector vice president in charge of agriculture and water, Aly Abou-Saba.

Ogbeh thanked the former minister of agriculture, now president of AfDB, Akinwumi Adesina, for laying a very solid foundation in the agricultural sector and promised to deepen and widen the sector, saying the level of poverty in the rural villages is unacceptable.

The Minister said the government will take steps to avoid any bleak future through better nutrition for the children saying 27 percent of Nigerian children are malnourished. He emphasized the need to mechanise agriculture so as to be attractive to the youths and to improve seed quality.

He solicited the support of the bank in its expansion programme and equally urged them to bring in interventions in critical sectors of Agriculture. He said Nigeria needs AFDB support to curb desertification and increase grazing pasture to reduce clashes between farmers and cattle rearers, as well improve wheat and milk production.

The Minister pledged to use his experience in the sector to add value to the Nigerian agricultural sector for the benefit of other African countries who now want to benefit from the Nigerian experience.

Abou- Saba, leader of the AfDB delegation said they were in the ministry to assist in putting in place a set of reforms in seed and fertilizer and other value chains.

He said most African countries are already seeking for information on Nigeria’s experience in the agricultural sector like the e-wallet system of the Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES) which has helped in reducing corruption in the sector and pledged to support the Nigerian agricultural sector.

Josephine Okojie