DR. OREDIPE URGES YOUTH TO EMBRACE AGRICULTURE...

Dr. Oredipe explaining a point while delivering his lecture.

In view of the enormous potentials inherent in the agricultural sector, a seasoned Agricultural Economist and former Chief Technical Adviser to the immediate past Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Adetunji Adeleke Oredipe has urged youth to embrace agriculture and see it as window of opportunities.

He stated this when he delivered a public lecture titled: “Agriculture As A Sector of Opportunity for the Youth: World Bank Experience”, yesterday at the Caverton Lecture Hall, Main Campus.

The World Bank, Senior Agricultural Economist revealed that Nigerian agricultural sector has the potentials to provide jobs for the teeming unemployed youth and provide base for growth as witnessed in other states who have invested in agriculture.

He stated that Nigeria’s unemployment rate has reached an alarming rate of 50 percent and called for urgent steps towards addressing the problem.

He expressed displeasure over findings that majority of farmers in Nigeria are above 60 years and largely illiterate which has accounted for the low productivity in the agricultural sector while revealing that the sector needs new generation of farmers that are educated, trained and well skilled in modern farming practices, farm management as well as marketing.

Dr. Oredipe disclosed that with 79 million hectares of arable land endowed with diversified ecological conditions, blessed with abundant water resources and adequate rainfall should make Nigeria net exporter of food.

“In the absence of a new generation of farmers all other agricultural initiatives of government including research could be exercise in futility”, he enthused. 

He identified attitudinal problems, unstable governance and policy inconsistency, lack of strong commitments by the three tiers of government, absence of concrete programme of assistance to settle trained youths into agriculture career after training, poor state of rural infrastructure development, poor remunerative prices of agricultural produce, drudgery associated with farming operation, problem of land tenure systems, problem of high post-harvest losses,   lack of adequate storage facilities and access to credit facilities as some of the challenges preventing the youth from embracing agriculture.

The guest lecturer disclosed that the Nigerian Agricultural Sector can absorb large numbers of new job seekers, offer meaningful work with public and private benefits. He therefore, called on young people to embrace agriculture owing to its well documented potentials to provide the much needed opportunities..

Earlier in his welcome address the Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Musbau Adewumi Akanji, FNSBMB, thanked the guest lecturer for his dedication and for accepting to deliver the lecture.

Prof. Akanji further assured the lecturer and his team that the University is committed to the FADAMA II 

SOURCE FUTMINNA




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