The National
Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), John Odigie-Oyegun yesterday
described the current recession as a blessing in disguise.He spoke at the
University of Benin, Benin City at the 61st Annual Conference of
Agriculture/General Meeting of Association of Deans of Agriculture in Nigerian
Universities (ADAN) and Awards.
The chairman
said the APC-led Federal Government was committed to developing agriculture to
make the people to think beyond crude oil.He explained that there is no country
in the world that does not subsidise agriculture, adding it must be developed
to become the backbone of the nation’s economy.
“The United
States of America, which is the greatest economic power pays farmers to produce
even the things that they don’t need. We have come to that level because the
price of a barrel of oil has dropped.
“It is no
longer a matter of choice that we must divert to agriculture. It is
unforgivable that we behaved stupidly without a vision for so long. Agriculture
is about 70 per cent of our growth and the vision would stabilise if we could
grow even as low as three per cent,” he said.
Guardian reported that, While
Governor Godwin Obaseki promised to collaborate with the university to develop
agriculture in the state, the Managing Director, Presco Oil plc, Mr. Felix
Nwabuko, urged the Federal Government to change its land management laws and
governance to attain self-sufficiency in food production.
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