Following
the recent decline in the price of crude oil, President Goodluck Jonathan on
Tuesday said it had become imperative to rapidly diversify the nation’s economy
away from dependency on crude oil, and focus more on agriculture.
He
noted that agriculture sector remains vital for the economy of Nigeria.
The
president made the remarks at the launch of Youth Empowerment in Agriculture
Programme (YEAP) and Fund For Agricultural Finance in Nigeria (FAFIN) at the
Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa in Abuja.
FAFIN,
according to Jonathan, would deploy $100million towards providing affordable
long term financing to support the development of small and medium scale
agri-businesses.
He
said
if the nation produces its own food, “we will save scarce foreign
exchange, reduce dependence on food imports, while reviving our rural areas and
creating wealth for our farmers.”
Jonathan
noted that the decline in the price of crude oil did not take his administration
by surprise, adding that in the past three years, it had been engaged in a
carefully designed and implemented agricultural transformation agenda.
“Our
massive food production efforts, which led to the production of 21 million
metric tons of food in the past three years, have created a buffer and
mitigated the impact of the devaluation on food prices.
“Our
food import bill declined from N1.1 trillion
in 2009 to N624 billion by
December of 2013, and continues to decline. Our electronic wallet system, which
allows us to reach farmers with subsidised seeds and fertilizers via mobile
phones, has become the backbone of a more modern agricultural sector. Over 14
million farmers have received their subsidised farm inputs through the e-wallet
system.
“Over
$5.6. billion of new private sector
investments have also come into the agricultural sector, which clearly shows
that local and foreign businesses see Nigeria’s agricultural sector as very
viable for investments. Agriculture has become the new wealth sector for
Nigeria.
“To
further boost the performance of the agriculture sector, Nigeria needs younger
and more entrepreneurial commercial farmers. The rapidly ageing population of
farmers poses a significant challenge and unless younger farmers are quickly
developed, our future food security and competitiveness in agriculture will be
compromised.
“That
is why we are focusing on programmes that will engage our teeming youths in
profitable and viable economic activities along the agricultural value chains,
including commercial farming, processing, value addition, logistics, transport
and marketing of value added agricultural products. They will not just take
agriculture as a way of life, they will run agriculture as a business,”
Jonathan said.
The
president said he was confident that several young millionaires and even
billionaires of Nigeria would come out of the agriculture sector.
He
stressed that before a lot of youths could be
successfully attracted to the agriculture sector, “we must replace the
hoes and cutlasses with modern farm machinery.”
Jonathan
added that agriculture should not be synonymous with hard labour or rural life.
“To
drive the modernisation of the agriculture sector, I launched the Agricultural
Equipment Hiring Enterprises (AEHEs), a private sector driven programme that
will provide mechanised services for farmers across the country.
“By
the end of December 2014, a total of 80 Agricultural Equipment Hiring Centres
would have become fully established across the country. Over the next two
years, a total of 1,200 of the Agricultural Equipment Hiring Centres would be
established across the nation.
“I
am pleased to see that some of the young commercial farmers are already
benefiting from the federal government mechanisation support on their farms. We
must take the hoes and cutlasses away from the farms and replace them with
tractors and mechanised equipment.
“The
Youth Employment in Agriculture Programme (YEAP), which I am launching off
today, will further change the face of Nigeria’s agriculture. YEAP has been
designed to create a new generation of 750,000 young commercial farmers and
agribusiness leaders (Nagropreneurs) that will make Nigeria’s agriculture more
efficient, profitable and competitive. They will become the CEOs of their own
farms and agribusinesses, create jobs in the rural areas and reverse the trend
of high rural to urban migration.
“They
will help to change the mindset of the younger generation on agriculture.
“These
‘Nagropreneurs’ will become models and champions for our newly launched
National Agriculture Schools Initiative, as they project to younger school
children, the image of agriculture as an attractive and wealth creating sector.
To consolidate and ensure that our future green economy endures, government
introduced the National Schools Agriculture Programme.
“This
is aimed at encouraging our children in post-primary schools to recognize, and
leverage on the huge potentials that exist in Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
“To
further enhance this initiative, I urge the Nigerian movie and entertainment
industry to change the narrative and imagery around agriculture, and start
showcasing younger commercial farmers and agribusinesses. We must make
agriculture cool! I am happy that among
us here today are some of our bright filmmakers.
“As
many more young people move into agriculture – as you all can see today – the
number of small and medium scaled agribusiness enterprises is rising.
“I
was very pleased to see the many products from these Nagropreneurs featured in
the exhibition. There is no doubt that our young people are very hard working,
talented and entrepreneurial. We must therefore encourage them, especially with
access to affordable financing. Under the YEAP programme, they will be provided
with access to grants and subsidised loans to help further grow their
businesses.
“It
is also for this reason that my government has worked closely with the German
government to catalyse the development of the Fund for Agricultural Finance in
Nigeria (FAFIN)” the president said.
He
congratulated Ministers of Agriculture, Finance and Coordinating
Minister for the Economy, their ministries and agencies, for their hard work in
making the establishment of FAFIN a reality.
He
also thanked the German Development Bank (KfW) and the Nigerian Sovereign
Wealth Fund for their partnership and investments in FAFIN.
Jonathan
thanked the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations for its
support towards the development of the Youth Employment in Agriculture
Programme.
“Today,
looking at all these young Nagropreneurs, I see a great future. A future of a
greener economy that is powered by young people.
“A
future of a more dynamic commercial agriculture sector. A future where
agriculture becomes Nigeria’s new oil,” the president added.
Thisday
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