President Muhammadu Buhari said Friday in Abuja that the time has come for
Nigerians to do more than pay mere lip service to agriculture, as crude
oil and gas exports will no longer be sufficient as the country’s major
revenue earner.
President Buhari made the declaration at an audience with Dr Kanayo
Nwanze, the Nigerian born President of the International Fund for
Agricultural Development (IFAD), at the Presidential Villa.
“It’s time to go back to the land. We must face the reality that the
petroleum we had depended on for so long will no longer suffice. We
campaigned heavily on agriculture, and we are ready to assist as many as
want to go into agricultural ventures,” the President said.
The President pledged that his administration will also cut short the long
bureaucratic processes that Nigerian farmers had to go through to get any
form of assistance from government.
He told the IFAD President that improvement of the productivity of
farmers, dry season farming, and creative ways to combat the shrinking of
the Lake Chad will also receive the attention of his administration.
“There is so much to be done. We will try and articulate a programme and
consult organizations like IFAD for advise,” the President said, adding
that foreign exchange will be conserved for machinery and other items
needed for production, “instead of using it to import things like
toothpicks.”
Dr Nwanze congratulated President Buhari on his victory at the general
elections and assured him that IFAD was ready to give all possible
assistance to the Federal Government and Nigerian farmers to boost
agricultural production in the country.
IFAD is an international organization dedicated to addressing issues of
agriculture and poverty alleviation. It was established in 1978, and has
been collaborating with Nigeria for over 30 years.