Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, has called for
\ndevelopment, production and distribution of quality seeds to farmers in
\nNigeria in order to boost agricultural output and create over 40 million
\njobs for the unemployed population.<\/p>\n
Dogara, who said this when he visited Premier Seeds Nigeria Limited,
\nZaria, Kaduna State, also expressed strong belief that with coordinated
\nsupport from the executive and the legislature for companies that produce
\nand distribute high breed seeds to farmers, Nigeria will become food
\nsufficient and standard of living of its citizens will also improve.<\/p>\n
He \u00a0explained, “If the revolution in agriculture is going to be anything,
\nit must start with the production and distribution of quality seeds. Gone
\nare the days of our parents when they used to plant grains as seed,
\napparently we didn\u2019t know that for you to have bumper harvest, it is not
\nevery grain that will qualify as the seed that the farmer will plant.<\/p>\n
“Agriculture has the potential of being the highest employer of labour in
\nthis country. If we have small farms springing up across the nation
\nemploying from \u00a0to \u00a025, 40 or more people, you can imagine if we could
\nhave 1 million of those ventures, that is between 40 to 70 million jobs
\nthat save us a lot of problems in this country and help to deal with many
\nvices, insecurity, violence and the likes.<\/p>\n
Dogara commended the company for the work they are doing for the nation by
\nequipping farmers and providing them with the right seeds with which they
\ncan grow and feed the nation, adding that the legislature will not
\nhesistate to look at how the government and farmers can collaborate to
\nensure that farmers in Nigeria get quality seeds.<\/p>\n
“That is the challenge across the country, as we speak, apart from farmers
\naround this facility, may be not too far away from here, I can guarantee
\nthat a lot of farmers outside this region are not even aware of the need
\nto have quality seeds planted in order to have bumper harvest.<\/p>\n
“I am assured and I believe that you are producing quality seeds from this
\nplace otherwise you wouldn\u2019t attract those awards and in terms of our work
\nas legislators, we represent the people and chances are that when we
\nconnect at this level, we will spread the word down the ladder to even the
\npeasant farmer farming for sustenance, not even for commercial purposes
\nbecause they need to get quality seeds as well, when they get quality
\nseeds, they plant these seeds and it increases their yield, it will mean,
\nthey will have food to feed on and still have some to dispose of and
\nthereby increasing family savings and putting resources in their hands to
\npay school fees for their kids.<\/p>\n
“So, for us, the work you do is very foundational and fundamental in the
\nsuccess of the revolution that we seek in the agricultural sector. If
\nthere is anything we can do as a parliament to support your work; don\u2019t
\nhesitate to tell us and we believe that no one is an island, even the
\nprivate sector would have to collaborate with the government and the
\ngovernment itself would have to collaborate with the private sector in
\norder to move agriculture forward.”<\/p>\n
Speaking on how active engagement of youths in agriculture would benefit
\nthe nation, he noted that when people are engaged in agriculture, by the
\ntime they come back home, they are so tired that even if they wanted to be
\nterrorists, they wouldn’t have the strength after being on the farm for 6
\nhours to carry any gun.<\/p>\n
“So this is why we really need to promote agriculture development in this
\ncountry and as legislators, even those in the Executive shouldn\u2019t shy away
\nfrom giving you the support that you need in order to succeed,” he added.<\/p>\n
Earlier, the managing director of the company,
\nProf.\u00a0 Abraham Oyediji Ogungbile, informed the Speaker that they
\ndistribute fertilizer and seed to about 2,000 farmers who are their
\nout-growers to produce certified seed for them.<\/p>\n
He, however, regretted that the company has been supplying seed since
\n2014, but has not been paid even as loans secured by the company to embark
\non the project are yet to be paid off.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, has called for development, production and distribution of quality seeds to farmers in Nigeria in order to boost agricultural output and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":51653,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n