4th October, 2015
Owali Ilem, former Chairman of Cross River Commercial Agriculture Development Association (CADA), on Sunday urged all tiers of government to prioritize agriculture for the country to prosper.
Owali made the call in an interview with NAN in Calabar.
He said that the country had huge agricultural potentialities that should be fully harnessed for the nation to solve her socio-economic problems, including unemployment.
He said that if government focused more on agricultural, there would be enough food for the citizenry and raw materials for local industries and exportation.
According to him, government, especially at the local and state levels, should not pay lip service to agriculture, but encourage the private sector to embrace commercial farming.
“Let all tiers of government, groups and individuals invest heavily in agriculture and Nigeria will be better for it,” he said.
Owali said government should support the poor and rural farmers through supply of inputs and farm implements.
“Farmers in the rural areas are poor and need government’s encouragement through supply of inputs, implements and granting of interest-free loans.
“Government at all levels should provide the enabling environment’ such as good roads and help those interested in commercial farming to secure land,” he said.
The former chairman noted that the country’s over-dependence on oil revenue had adversely affected the economy, adding that prioritization was one way to rescue the nation’s economy.
“Before the discovery of oil, we had groundnut pyramids in the north, palm oil in the east and cocoa in the west among other resources. All these were abandoned because of oil.
“From the south to the north, Nigeria has enough agricultural potential that can make her be among the richest economies in the world.
“But this can only be achieved if all hands are on deck. It goes beyond government; individuals and groups must also show interest in investing in agriculture,” he said.