The United States of America will assist and also train Nigerian farmers in the next agricultural planting season.
This is part of the dividends being recorded after President Buhari’s trip to the US, Femi Adesina, presidential spokesman said.
This is part of the dividends being recorded after President Buhari’s trip to the US, Femi Adesina, presidential spokesman said.
Although the 2015 planting has been completed and Nigerian farmers will wait for the support of US professional farmers to improve on the already thriving sector.
He warned that the dividend from the four-day working visit might not be instantly visible as most were long term, but the short terms ones were already pouring in and others will keep coming gradually.
“It is not like going to the market and coming back and saying how much did you sell? There are long-term. When we came back we discussed about the things that are urgent, the low hanging fruits that we could have and the ones that could take time,” he added.
During the National Peace Committee meeting which held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja last week, the President talked about America coming to assist us in farming next season, it is late for this year but by next year they are going to send some experts who will help Nigerian farmers.
Adesina noted that, it is not something that you will just put in a basket immediately “so, things like that will keep coming.. The yield will come in gradually.
He said the agenda of security, assistance in terms of guard, instructions and intelligence, “will keep dropping; it is not as if it will be gotten in one fell pounce.”
From 2011 the President Goodluck Jonathan administration focused on the agricultural sector as one of its foundation, in the pursuit to increase food production and ensure self-sufficiency in agricultural practices in the country. It yielded a 70 percent growth in food production.
The production of rice and cassava received more attention as even the output of Nigerian rice farmers was over 2.8 million metric tons of rice paddy. This had also culminated in the introduction of dry season farming.
President Buhari’s administration has now listed agriculture as one of its main source to increase the economy in the midst of declining oil prices. Oil prices have continued to fall between an all time high of $68 to $50 per barrel.
Recently Buhari while receiving the President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Kanayo Nwanze, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the time had come for Nigerians to do more than pay mere lip service to agriculture, as crude oil and gas exports would no longer be sufficient as the country’s key revenue earner.
We must realize that the petroleum we had depended on for so long will no longer be enough. We campaigned heavily on agriculture, and we are ready to assist as many as want to go into agricultural ventures,” “It’s time to go back to the land, the president had said.
