As Nigeria joins her counterpart all over the world, to celebrate world
food day. It is pertinent to note that food remains a paramount issue in the
seven point agenda of the present president of the federal republic of Nigeria
president Umaru Yar’adua.
Nigeria is richly blessed with human and natural resources.
At a point, we have been able to harness these resources to satisfy the needs
of the masses. What has happening in the agricultural sector of the economy for
the past twenty years now, is a basic problem that needs to be addressed.
Nigeria, the largest populated country in Africa
is richly blessed with lot of sustainable resources that would have taken the
country to greater height, and in the past, Nigeria was known as one of the
country that exports the highest number of raw agricultural materials to the
rest of the world. But today, Nigeria
cannot even feed its masses let alone talks about exporting to other country
Despite
the propaganda about exportation of raw agricultural materials, withal the new
innovations of agriculture, what we export cannot be compare to what we ought
to have exported.
This timely information is aimed at ensuring the
production of enough food that will be sufficient for the consumption of the
people; and for export. This information is also targeted to assisting in the
security of food through the extension education technology.
We
in Gofta believe strongly that the awareness and education given to farmers on
the new method of farming and innovation has, to a considerable extent not been
enough. Putting into consideration the large number of farmers we have in the
country; to be precise, its effect is not up to 11%. Therefore, the government
at all level must wake up to their responsibility of making food sufficient for
its citizenry. In Nigeria
where the bulk of farmers lived in the rural area, government ought to give
special priority to farmers by designing a program aimed at reaching the rural
farmers. Instead of using the Television to sensitize the people, the government
and its agent should look for capable groups among the farmers co-operative
Societies, to help them bring the real farmers together to be sensitized on how
to prepare their farms for better yield. Instead the agencies set up by the
government to reach the farmers through extension education technology have
failed. As they have not been able to incorporate these farmers and give them
the necessary assistance needed.
Extension
in the real sense is to reach a large number of farmers at the same time.
OUR
ADVICE:
We
advise the government and all the agric officials in the various Ministry of
Agriculture to buckle up now and do their best to make sure the farmers are
assisted to the maximum level they can, to be able to produce enough food, to feed
the populace, and for export
They
should ensure they reach all the farmers, and ask them their problems, provide
it for them and also encourage them by means of financial assistance, then
institute a means to monitor their progress.
We
in Gofta strongly believe that if these advices are applied, food shortage will
be a thing forgotten in all nook and corners of Nigeria.
The government agencies
definitely cannot be able to reach all farmers in the rural areas. Another fact
is, any money designated for agric project in the country, becomes money for
all. This is so because; the farmers are helpless, brother less, friendless,
and unpopular. This should stop! Let us start our investment right now before
our bones get puny. Call the farmers together, give them what actually belong
to them. Because if you fail to do this, the book of Psalms 82:3 says “Give ear to the cause of the poor (those in the grass
root) and the children without fathers; (the farmers) let those who are
troubled and in need have their rights so says the Lord”.
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