Buhari assures his govt will prioritize agriculture

dimeji akinloye

June 4, 2015 8:02 PM

The president said agriculture must not be treated as a development programme anymore, but as a business.

President Muhammadu Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday, June 4, said the Federal Government will give Agriculture the needed attention as part of effort to diversify the economy.

The President said this in Calabar while declaring open the 55th Annual General Meeting of Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA).

"Agriculture must cease from being treated as development programme; Agriculture must be treated as business, " he said.

Buhari, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, Alhaji Umar Farouk, said the federal government is focusing on the development of agricultural value chain.

According to him, agricultural value chain allows the intervention of segments of the value chain such as production, processing, storage and marketing.

"Our goal will be to pursue government supported private sector agriculture value chain to make agriculture more productive, efficient and competitive.

"To provide enough food for domestic supply and create jobs through agriculture value chain," Buhari said.

The President said that Nigeria has the richest agriculture based mineral resources in Africa, adding that the country, nay, Africa has no reason being food importing continent.

dimeji akinloye