I have deliberately chosen the topic of this
lecture as ‘Food and the Future’ because of the significance of food to the
continued well–being of human society.
As the Honourable Minister of Agriculture and
Rural Development, my core business is agriculture and food security,
especially at a very critical moment in our history when the agricultural
sector is being revitalized under the Buhari Administration.
The renewed emphasis on the transformation of
the agricultural sector, by this Administration, is to ensure that the sector
becomes the new engine of growth for a vibrant, resilient and productive national
economy.
But our business here today is to reflect on
‘food and our future’.
The
Importance of Food
I do not have to stress the important roles
food and eating play in our lives, as they are evident in a rich variety of
ingredients, food forms, shapes, tastes and colours all over the universe.
However, we often gloss over the business of food, with serious consequences.
Nonetheless, food is basic to human existence,
irrespective of social or educational status, religious persuasions, race or
gender. Survival is impossible without food. A sad reality, however, is that in
spite of the fact that all human societies have been divinely endowed with the
ability to produce all the varieties of food required for human sustenance,
hunger is still a recurring decimal, and an on-going global phenomenon.
Hunger is real. The causes are diverse and
complex. Yet, it occurs where increasing knowledge about food and the abundance
of food are widely spread to individuals and places where scarcity and
inadequacy are prevalent. Failure to know what to eat, what not to eat, how to
eat and the right mix of what to eat at all times arise out of a wide variety
of causes. The global inequalities in wealth, economy, politics and industrial
development account for some of the causes. But tackling hunger remains an
on-going task that must be done.
The demand and supply aspects of food have
underscored the need for evidence-based interventions at various levels, and in
various forms as the food industry increasingly crystallizes as an
all-embracing sub-sector of the global economy. Increasingly, therefore,
agricultural systems, land use systems, natural, social and economic
environments are receiving greater attention under combined efforts to meet
human needs for sustainable supply of food for both human and animal
consumption.
Global
Hunger Profile
Estimates by the United Nations Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) between 2014 -2016 indicated that about 795
million people are hungry in a global population of about 7.3 billion people.
Expectedly, 780 million people (98.1%) of the hungry people live in developing
countries, including Nigeria, a rather sad situation reflecting the deplorable
condition of human wellbeing in these countries.
The World Food Programme has also provided
some disheartening statistics about famine worldwide, with about 805 million
people not having adequate nutrition. The highest percentage of undernourished
populations, regretfully, is also in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Perhaps more worrisome is the manifestation of
hunger in children, attested to in fetal growth restriction, stunting, wasting,
and deficiencies of vital micronutrients –vitamins and minerals-including iron,
vitamin A, iodine. The consequence is that poor nutrition has caused nearly
half the deaths in children under five (5) years old. In addition, about 66
million schoolchildren across the world are also hungry.
Food
Situation in Nigeria
In the case of Nigeria, the World Food
Programme (2016) has provided some interesting details about the food situation
in the country, which are instructive, including:
– the reality that we are a food deficit
nation, and Africa’s largest importer of rice (until recently with the
remarkable progress we have made to curb rice importation through local
production);
– that one third of children under five years in the Country are stunted- twice
the rate in Thailand and thrice the rate in Tunisia;
– a disturbing incidence of increased rates of both child and adult obesity; and
– that 48.5% of our women of reproductive age are anemic.
By the UN’s projection, the current dietary
consumption patterns will continue on the same rising population trajectory.
Feeding the more than 9 billion projected world population by 2050 will,
therefore, entail producing more food in the next 40 years. This is even more
compelling for Nigeria given the fact that the UN has projected that we will be
the third most populated country in the world by 2050. These present clear
lines of opportunities for us hence the need to start taking adequate measures
in the short, medium and long terms to feed the explosion of population which
is already in our hands and the thunderbolt which we are anticipating
especially from year 2040 through year 2050.
And so what are the measures that we have
either put in place or will be putting in place to ensure food security for
Nigerians now, and into the future?
Current
Measures Towards Promoting Food Security in Nigeria
The first major step is the promotion of a
culture of eating what we grow and growing what we eat. As aforesaid, nature in
its wisdom has ensured that the best foods for our daily needs are clearly
within our reach in our respective communities along all the agricultural belts
in Nigeria. Indeed, they are with us-they have been grown over the years by our
forebears, and through research, they can be produced with improved varieties,
for higher yields, and with less stressful methods of cultivation. But what did
we witness in the past? It was an addiction to foreign taste and food produced
in other climes.
This is why we need to be grateful to God for
the dollar scarcity in the economy which has made it practically impossible to
continue with this culture of unbridled waste, and invariably exporting wealth
and jobs to other nations while importing poverty into the Country. And,
evidently, one of the benefits of the economic downturn in Nigeria is the
recognition that we need to go back to the drawing board by growing what we eat
and eating what we grow. We have the population that can thus be turned to an
asset as a vibrant market for food.
Indeed, in our state of delusion in the past,
we got so addicted to imported rice and wheat that a considerable number in our
midst did not think they could be grown successfully in Nigeria. We have proved
doubting Thomases wrong, however, with the remarkable success of our home-grown
initiatives aimed at boosting rice production in the Country. It is consoling
that even those who were permanently addicted to the consumption of foreign
rice and wheat-based products are now patronizing our local rice and wheat, in
recognition that they are more nutritious and safer for their health. The flour
millers have embraced locally-grown wheat, and are now discussing with the
wheat farmers on increased production and agreeable prices.
The second major step is a new policy
direction for the agricultural sector, as outlined in the ‘Agriculture
Promotion Policy (APP) 2016-2020- also known as the ‘Green Alternative”.
Through the instrumentality of this policy document, we have consolidated on
the successes of the agricultural programmes of past administrations in Nigeria
without necessarily embarking on policy somersaults or reversals.
We have enriched the process through the
introduction of new initiatives including the agro export zero reject
programme; emplacement of improved process of fertilizer usage, entailing
matching of the right fertilizer with the right soil types, commencement of a
cattle breed improvement programme; expanding the nationwide coverage of
extension, and bringing back the three Federal Universities of Agriculture to
the domain of agriculture, being the constituency to which they naturally
belong in the first instance, and in which they were situated by the enabling
law.
With the three Universities of Agriculture
effectively under the oversight authority of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture
& Rural Development (FMARD), we are confident that through their teaching,
research, extension and innovation activities, the agricultural sector will be
adequately supported in resolving the challenges of food insecurity in Nigeria,
and meaningfully addressing the slow pace of agricultural development in the
Country.
The APP/Green Alternative has effectively been
incorporated into the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (2017-2020). In order
to ensure focus, clarity and impact, the plethora of activities within the
agricultural sector within the mandate of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture
have now been streamlined and consolidated into ten distinct areas. They are as
follows:
(i)
comprehensive livestock development,
(ii)
input access and transformation,
(iii)
expanded access to financial markets,
(iv)
value addition and processing support
and
(v)
agricultural water management. Other
areas are
(vi)
agricultural education, research and
innovation,
(vii)
agricultural manpower development,
(viii)
produce& commodity storage
systems,
(ix)
commercial agriculture expansion
support and
(x)
nutrition, quality control and
standardization. The ten areas will henceforth constitute the priority areas of
intervention and sustained support by Government in the agricultural sector in
the coming years.
Through the Agricultural Sector Food Security
and nutrition Strategy (2016-2025), we are also taking necessary steps to
address the whole gamut of food –related issues. The strategy focuses on eight
priority areas namely: (i) enhancing value chains for improved nutrition, (ii)
diversifying household food production and consumption, with emphasis on women
and increasing access to micronutrient rich foods , (iii) improving food safety
along the value chain, (iv) building resilience and social protection nets
through food nutrition systems for vulnerable groups, (v) promoting nutrition
research and information systems, (vi) improving the agricultural capacity to
address food security and nutrition problems, (vii)nutrition education, social
marketing, behaviour change communication and advocacy and (viii) nutrition
surveillance and monitoring and evaluation.
Of particular importance is the need to
improve food availability, access, utilization and stability in the Country,
bearing in mind that the 38kcal/person/day food energy deficit in the country
needs to be reversed. For example, as outlined in the Strategy, the
insufficiency of dietary availability of iron from animal sources at 1mgper
person per day in Nigeria relative to the 2.9mg globally; and consumption of
quality protein at 35g per person per day relative to 68.6g globally are
alarming to us.
Most often, available foods are also not
affordable to a significant number of the national population while nearly 60%
of the income of households is expended on food, and even those in the lowest
rung of the social and economic ladder spend more than 75% of their incomes on
food.
Inadequate processing and storage facilities
are troubling issues too because of their impact on prices and affordability.
Prolonged crisis, especially in the northern eastern part, and other parts of
the Country that have experienced incessant clashes of herdsmen and farmers, is
also an issue of concern. The good news is that this Administration is addressing
these issues with a view to effectively, satisfactorily and permanently
resolving them.
While time will not permit me to elaborate on
all the eight areas of the Food Safety and Nutrition Strategy, a few words on
food safety will suffice. All along the food value chains are various hazards
arising from indiscriminate use of fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides and
veterinary medicines, among others. Poor agricultural practices have accounted
for the rising incidents of biological contamination of foods with moulds,
viruses, parasites, prions, bacteria, some of which have been associated with
producing toxins like cancer aflatoxins. Drying in most places is undertaken on
major roads on bare surfaces thus exposing food items to dust, lead from car
exhaust and pest contamination, among others.
The food security and overall health of our
people are, therefore being compromised, almost daily, hence the unhealthy
situation food safety status of the country presently. The consequence is that
we are witnessing increased incidents of liver cancer (about 7,761 cases)
kidney failures, and other chronic diseases translating into a huge loss to the
country, especially with the loss of lives there from . The Federal Ministry of
Agriculture cannot deal with all these issues alone because they go beyond its
jurisdictional authority. Accordingly, we are working with concerned key
stakeholders in all spheres to put in place all necessary measures to ensure
that the food we consume nourish our bodies rather than impair our health.
Combating diet related non-communicable
diseases, which are also increasing phenomenally in Nigeria is also a topical
concern in the food safety and nutrition strategy. They are manifested in cases
such as high blood pressure, high fat content in the blood, high blood glucose
levels, obesity, diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases. Given that
increased access to fruits, vegetables, legumes, and other nutrient-dense foods
can help stem the occurrence of these diseases in large numbers, we are focusing
attention on producing them in greater numbers in the country. The emphasis is
to ensure improved access and affordability, especially to vulnerable persons
and those in the lowest rung of the social ladder in the society.
In view of the critical importance of
nutrition to food security, we are committed to entrenching, into the system,
an agricultural system that is closely linked with nutrition, hence
nutrition-sensitive. To further underscore our commitment to this new paradigm
, in my maiden address to Members of the Governing Councils of Federal
Universities of Agriculture on 8th August, 2017, I had placed the Universities
on notice regarding the importance of nutrition as a new area of study
attracting worldwide scientific attention. It is informed by the new reality
that ninety percent of human disabilities are reportedly traceable to what we
eat or fail to eat.
Hippocrates, way back in 390BC, said ‘let your
food be your medicine and let your medicine be your food’. That statement is
valid today and we have no choice but to pay attention to this word of wisdom
in order to drastically reduce our national health bill, arising from poor
nutritional habits and raise the bar of the low life expectancy rate in the
country presently.
Indeed, what we grow- the soil, the use of
macro and micronutrients; how we harvest, store process, package and cook our
meals have all become something worthy of deep academic investigation. This
University, and other agriculture universities in the country, must take the
lead in research in these areas with a view to coming up with enduring
solutions to improve the quality of food we eat in the country and our health
status. It is partly because of this that I had advocated that each of the
Federal Universities of Agriculture should, as a matter of urgency, have in
place a fully established and functional college of nutrition and medical
sciences within the shortest possible time, where none currently exists, as
part of its process of re-modeling as a centre of excellence.
In the area of livestock development which is
integral to improving food access, the breed improvement programme is on-going
with heifer and bull multiplication, institution of integrated disease and pest
control measures, provision of support for processing of poultry meat and dairy,
increased livestock production and pasture and fodder development as well as
establishment of cattle colonies and promotion of commercial ranching within
existing grazing reserves in the country.
With fisheries, we are concentrating effort on
intensifying the promotion and development of fisheries and aquaculture ,
including promoting a cage culture support for freshwater and marine water fish
breed multiplication across the country. We recognize the need to utilize the
available dams in the country for intensive fish production and collaborative
fish breeding support. Accordingly, we are working in partnership with relevant
institutions of Government at the federal and state levels. As a further
measure of increasing our local capacity in fish production, we have
drastically reduced the importation of fish and we are working towards
achieving further reduction in the rate of importation in the years ahead.
Indeed, we are confident that it is possible to achieve self-sufficiency in
fish production in Nigeria, in no distant time, with increased investment in
fish production, storage and processing in the coming years.
It is impossible to improve agricultural
production and productivity if farmers do not have adequate access to
certified/quality inputs. These include certified seeds, agro-chemicals, soil
specific fertilizer blends, mechanization and extension services. In this
regard, we are focusing attention on expanding the scope of the GES to include
5ha+ farmers, customizing fertilizer blends to local soils and propagating the
use of high yield seeds at the Local government level. We are sure that we
shall begin to see significant improvements in agricultural production and
productivity once there is consistency of action in this direction in the
coming years by all stakeholders.
It is also true that agriculture cannot thrive
without expanded access to financial markets. In this connection, we are
working hard to significantly reduce the cost of funds. We are advocating for
the scaling up of the Anchor’s Borrowers’ Programme to the 36 States. We shall
complete the recapitalization of the Bank of Industry (BOI), institute new
agricultural finance programmes in partnership with the Central bank of Nigeria
and advocate for the review and scaling up of NIRSAL and NAIC support.
In the realm of value addition, we are
concentrating effort on expanding downstream value addition operations,
research and propagation, supply chain domestication programme to support
industry, as well as boosting business start-up support for youth and women
among others. The staple crop-processing zone is also expected to come on
stream in due course, as planned, which will be greatly increase the scope of
processing of in the agricultural sector, in addition to attracting investors
increased investment to the sector.
Boosting food supply also requires that
agriculture is undertaken in both the dry and wet seasons. To this end, we are
determined to relentlessly pursue the acceleration of irrigation projects in
the country by expanding irrigable lands in the river basins in the country and
deepening the use of irrigation by farmers by providing the enabling support to
them. Undoubtedly, our dams across the country are grossly under-utilized, poorly
maintained and need to be effectively harnessed, henceforth, for all year
agricultural production and productivity. The silted rivers need to be dredged
to reduce flooding tendencies and provide means for waterway transportation of
agricultural produce from source to the markets.
Boosting food production and foreign exchange
earnings through agro-exports also entail the promotion of foundation and
breeder seeds development for high yield- early-maturing-drought and disease
resistant varieties of the major crops grown across the country. They are
cocoa, sugar cane, groundnut, palm oil, cashew cotton, ginger, sesame, gum arabic.
Kenaf, shea butter, rubber, mango, citrus, rice, wheat, maize, soya beans,
tomatoes, yam, sorghum, cassava and cowpeas. We are intensifying efforts in
this direction with a view to ensuring that we respond adequately to the
demands of the local and foreign markets.
Our produce and commodity storage systems
programme is being consolidated in order to help us to reduce post-harvest losses
and sustain the existing grain reserves management. We are also in the process
of revitalizing the commodity exchange for improved inventory management and
fast-tracking of exports. A case has also been made for the re-introduction of
the marketing boards which we are exploring with a view to taking a final
decision soon.
The re-establishment of the National
Agricultural Land development Authority (NALDA) is a welcome development,
bearing in mind the astronomical cost of land preparation/development, especially
in the southern part of the Country. NALDA will also greatly enhance and
facilitate our commercial agriculture programme, in addition to assisting us to
triple the production of cassava, maize, rice, wheat, soya beans, potato and
tomatoes, just to mention a few, as well as revive and scale up cashew, cocoa,
palm oil, cotton, sugar cane banana, mango, pulses, coconut ,ginger and rubber
plantations.
The promotion of crop specialization at the
state level based on comparative advantage is expected to boost agricultural
production in the country. We are committed to the achievement of sufficiency
in our local staples . Already, we are almost achieving this target with rice.
I believe with determination, we have no business importing any kind of food again
that we can comfortably grow in Nigeria. Indeed, there is no need for such
indulgence again, which has always drained us economically and multiplied
poverty in our land.
The Role of Federal Universities of
Agriculture
The Universities of Agriculture (UAs) should
probably be our most important partner in the agricultural sector. The
agricultural sector cannot thrive without knowledge- therefore the specialized
universities of agriculture were specifically established as the knowledge
centres of this sector.
Until the recent policy change, however, the
institutional structure and functions of the UAs show a marked departure from
both the norm in implementing
the concept of UAs in other parts of the world, and also from the provisions of
the extant law, as highlighted below:
i.
departure from the provisions of the
original statute establishing the Universities – whereas these Universities,
though established by law, under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of
Agriculture through an Agricultural Universities Coordinating Agency (AUCA),
were operating under the Ministry of Education since 1999 without regard to the
law, using the instrumentality of supervision by the National Universities
Commission (NUC) that have employed the same parameters as those applied for
faculties of agriculture in conventional Universities;
ii.
departure from the original academic
structure – whereas the original academic briefs of the Universities of
agriculture put emphasis on practical work of staff and students in terms of teaching,
research and outreach, which are closely integrated in a multilateral activity
structure (e.g. 70:30; 50: 30: 20; 70: 20: 10; etc.) and which permits
sufficient mental mobility of professional staff between colleges and other
organs, these Universities have since operated an academic structure not
different from the conventional approach of the faculties in conventional
universities;
iii.
departure from the original programme
structure: whereas the collegiate system adopted from inception for the universities
of agriculture envisaged considerable administrative autonomy of colleges,
these units are run in the same way as faculties with no such independence in
programme implementation, and the attendant negative consequences for
addressing the issues confronting the agricultural sector in real time as
desired;
iv.
departure from the philosophy, purpose
and global best practices whereas the agricultural universities were expected
to align their teaching, research community services with the policy focus and
programme priorities of government in real time, and to have by now developed
considerable capacity to address the emerging policy issues facing the
agricultural sector, as done by such universities in advanced agricultural
economies of the world. The agricultural universities in Nigeria are
intellectually disconnected from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development, and have failed to uphold this philosophy and contributed little
or nothing to benefit the Ministry in finding solutions to such policy issues
in order to jointly address them; or come up with enduring solutions to
problems confronting farmers and preventing them from adopting innovations and
operating their enterprises as a business.
I urge the Federal University of Agriculture,
Abeokuta, and other sister institutions in Umudike and Makurdi to take
advantage of their reintegration into the Ministry, and our agricultural agenda
at large, and get enlisted as our reliable allies in the agricultural sector.
Looking into the future, there are so many things the UAs can do to improve the
food situation in the Country. For example, the vast portions of arable land
left to fallow for too long should now be harnessed for agricultural
production, either singly or in collaboration with willing investors and other
stakeholders.
We are living witnesses to the fact that our
universities in Ibadan, Zaria, Ife and Nsukka, for example were every active in
the past in providing food for their immediate communities. There is no reason
why this university (Abeokuta) cannot provide a substantial part of the food
requirements of the people of Ogun, Lagos and Oyo States. By doing this, you
will not only be promoting access to food in Nigeria but also enhancing your
internal revenue generation capacity in the face of dwindling fund allocation
from Government.
Another area which you can play a significant
role is in seeds and seedlings improvement. Nigerian agriculture will thrive
better with improved seeds in all crop areas. There are early maturing new
varieties of cocoa, kolanut, cashew and other crops which are being grown in
other parts of the world through the research breakthroughs of agricultural
institutions such as yours. The UAs need to get involved because we need
breeders of exceptional pedigree in our universities to improve the fortunes of
the agricultural sector in Nigeria.
Climate-related uncertainties manifesting as
drought, floods, temperature fluctuation, crop and animal diseases increasingly
pose what could become the greater challenges to agricultural production and
food security. There are significant indications of climate-related problems
already being recorded in many regions, particularly in sub-saharan Africa.
Global warming and unusual weather conditions
like heavy rainfall are leading to new methods of distribution of vectors and
diseases, with the emergence and persistence of new pathogens or the spread of
pathogens to new areas. Growing demands for energy are adding further pressures
on agricultural systems, both to supply traditional bio-energy and to supply
industrial biofuels. The historic technological and policy focus on crop and
livestock production for agriculture is no longer viable if agriculture is to
thrive in this new environment of multiple pressures and demands. Agriculture
can no longer simply focus only on the output of food production if it is to
preserve the vital resources that will provide food in the long run. Your
perspectives on how to respond to these emerging challenges are needed now.
We are concerned with mobilizing the youth for
agriculture. The UAs are fertile grounds for the accomplishment of this
objective. That is why I have directed that in moving forward, the UAs should
review their curricula and grading system to give more weight to practical agriculture
rather than mere theory. In this regard, henceforth every student is to own a
farm or engage in any other form of agricultural activity within the respective
sub-sectors and value chains.
By doing this, students can earn money while
in school and they can eventually transform as farmers and agro-entrepreneurs
once they are out of school. Once we are able to enlist our agricultural
students to embrace practical agriculture in school, I am optimistic that this
will serve as a source of inspiration to other students in our tertiary
institutions and the youth population in Nigeria to embrace agriculture as a
profitable venture.
I am mindful of the low enrolment figures for
agriculture today in our UAs and the faculties of agriculture in the conventional
universities in Nigeria. I urge you to provide us with insights regarding the
incentives we need to put in place to boost student enrolment. Low as these
enrolment figures are, they cannot provide justification for the observed
deviation of UAs from their intended pathways to establish and grow the
ancillary courses of instructions faster than the core mandate agricultural
courses. Soon, Government will engage your governing councils and the senate in
order to jointly address this and other structural issues arising from the
departure of UAs from their mandate in different ways.
Research and innovation is a very wide area
for which the expertise of the AUs is needed. Indeed, virtually every aspect of
Nigerian agriculture is challenged, requiring new frontiers of knowledge to
enable us make significant breakthroughs. I urge the UAs to place more emphasis
on research and innovation and partner with the Agricultural Research Council
of Nigeria (ARCN), the National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC) Agricultural
Colleges and Research Institutes, in the Country, to take the agricultural
sector to the next level. I urge you to commercialize your research
breakthroughs and set up subsidiaries for providing market-driven innovative
services which the agricultural sector urgently requires for its sustenance and
rapid growth. Gone are the days when research breakthroughs should lie fallow
on the shelf. They are needed in the field more than ever before now for the
transformation of the agricultural sector.
The UAs can also do more in the area of
extension. Indeed, the extension system is currently being re-calibrated to
ensure inclusive participation by all stakeholders. The days of a wholly public
sector-driven extension system are also gone for good. The UAs are in good
stead to support the agricultural system by making the extension system more
responsive, knowledge driven and impactful. You are, therefore, welcome to the
new extension world of the agricultural sector as key players. In particular,
the space for linking research with extension farmers and markets for inputs
and outputs should be strengthened with the UAs playing a critical role in
illuminating the policy and operational issues involved and in proffering
solutions to address such issues.
Other areas where the UAs can effectively
complement us include providing us with knowledge on more efficient utilization
of resources, especially the continued interconnections between land and
land-based resources and the challenge faced in balancing the multiple uses of
land, water and energy and the resilience of the food system-including its
vulnerability to disruptive hazards in supply chains and trade routes, as well
as threats from disease, conflict and climatic shocks. Others include diet and
sustainability-especially the changing trends in food consumption and what
constitutes a healthy and sustainable diet appropriate in different cultural
and environmental contexts, technological improvements and new innovations ,
including the effects on food production and consumption patterns and impacts
on the sustainability , security , quality and affordability of food and
agricultural and food trade policies in terms of their assessment and
suggestions on the way forward.
I will not fail to mention that the place of
harmony and peace in the University environment for the realization of your
mandate. I, therefore, urge you to continue to support this Administration in
its determined efforts to bring a new lease of life to the country.
We are determined to remodel the UAs as nodal
centres of excellence. I assure our approach will be friendly and inclusive but
we may not necessarily agree on all issues. I, therefore, seek your cooperation
in ensuring that this University and the other two universities of agriculture
are truly remodeled and focused as specialized institutions and legal entities
for the advancement of agricultural education and training, as well as
innovative and adaptive research in line with the vision of their founding
fathers. We have set in motion the necessary machinery to achieve this goal. We
shall not look back until we have reached the mark.
So what does the future portend for the
agricultural sector in Nigeria? I see a bright future for the sector. I see us
achieving national food sufficiency in record time. I see us eating in the
right quantity and in the right mix. I see us producing food for export, and
increasingly meeting the food requirements of other parts of the world,
especially the west, central, eastern and northern sub-regions of Africa, and
the European Union in the years ahead. I see our food industries flourishing
and supporting us in wealth creation and employment generation. I even see our
animals eating well and supplying us the nutrients that our bodies need for
healthy living.
I see the next generation of billionaires in
Nigeria emerging from the agricultural sector. I see healthier citizens,
conscious of the need to eat well rather than eat anything that comes their
way. I see prosperity along the agricultural value chains that takes us out of
food inadequacy and poverty. I see agriculture replacing oil as the mainstay of
our national economy. I see a Nigeria with zero tolerance for food importation,
imbued with a national pride of growing and eating what is produced locally. I
see a Nigeria where our huge population in 2010, as the third most populous
nation in the world, becomes a source of our strength. That is, however, if we
all walk the talk. It is a collective decision. The choice is ours.
Text of speech By Chief
Audu Ogbeh, OFR, Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development At
The Convocation Lecture Delivered at the Federal University of Agriculture,
Abeokuta Ogun State, Nigeria on 19th October, 2017
