In a bid to offer practical support to the federal government towards the actualization of sustainable food security in Nigeria, some university lecturers have floated an organisation for that purpose.
Their aim is to move around the country to galvanise Nigerians to embrace agriculture by teaching them modern methods and technologies towards enhanced food production.
The Director of Agribusiness Incubation Centre, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Dr Philips Nto, made this disclosure of the initiative during a chat with journalists, stressing that the time has come for Nigerians to make a conscious effort to conquer food insecurity in the country.
According to him, the country has the requisite manpower and vast arable land to sustain increased food production not only for local consumption but also for exports to boost the gross domestic product
Dr Nto, a former World Bank consultant and former Commissioner for Finance and Economic Planning in Abia state, disclosed that the NGO, Renewed Hope Agenda for Sustainable Food Security will soon become a national movement to ensure that Nigerians go back to the land.
He announced that able-bodied men and women who are currently in search of elusive government jobs would be trained and mobilised to engage in agricultural activities to boost food production.
He said that as the national coordinator of the NGO, he envisages a growing interest in agriculture by youths when armed with the right information, training, and empowering them on modern agricultural methods.
On whether the allocation of N826.5billion to agriculture by the Tinubu administration in the 2025 budget was not paltry, Dr Nto, who is the immediate Provost of Abia State College of Education, Technical, Arochukwu, disagreed, noting that the amount was not the issue.
According to him, as an item in the concurrent list, agriculture was being supported in funding by the three tiers of government while the private sector was also involved.
“To me, when we have security, we are supporting agriculture. When we have good roads, we are encouraging agriculture.
“When the power sector is working and farming equipment is functional, we are also supporting agriculture.
“So, all the other sectors are vicariously linked to agriculture. What is important now is for us to go back to the land, which is the message of Renewed Hope for Sustainable Food Security,” he said.
Nto, however, advocated the review of some of the federal government’s policies like the removal of fuel subsidies, foreign exchange rates, and tariffs in the importation of agricultural machinery to assist farmers in operating optimally
He proposed a synergy among all the Agribusiness Incubation Centres across the country for pooling resources, sharing knowledge, and driving innovative solutions to achieve food security in Nigeria.
Nto also praised the Vice Chancellor of MOUAU, Prof Maduebibisi Ofo Iwe for encouraging the ABIC in the university to realise the vision of President Bola Tinubu for universities of agriculture to lead the way in the fight against food insecurity.
