David Chimezie/Umuahia
The Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, has called on all Nigerians to go into agriculture if the country must survive the present economic gloom.
The governor made this call while addressing members of Abia State Farmers Cooperative Union Limited, AFCUL, who paid him a courtesy visit at Exco Chamber Government House Umuahia. Governor Ikpeazue said it has become imperative for Nigerians to embrace agriculture to diversify the nation’s economy that is currently facing a downward trend occasioned by the fall in oil price.
He noted that the only solution to this problem is agriculture which will ensure food sufficiency, create jobs and boost internally generated revenue. He stated that if states would embrace agriculture, they would be better off as they would solely be responsible for the control of that sector in their various states unlike the oil sector that is under the control of the federal government. He observed that some of the major problems facing agriculture in the South East geo-political zone is that it does not have enough land mass for agricultural practices. Secondly, agriculture in this zone is yet to be mechanised. To him, youths do not embrace farming because it is not mechanised.
The governor commended the union for embracing micro finance banks and charged them to form cooperatives to be able to access more fund to tackle some problems associated with agricultural such as processing agricultural products. Governor Ikpeazu disclosed that his government is seeking agric loan to boost agriculture in the state. He promised that when this is realised only genuine farmers will benefit.
Earlier in his address, the chairman of the Abia State Farmers Cooperative Union Limited, AFCUL, Chief Uzoma Nwogwugwu, commended Governor Ikpeazu for his efforts towards diversifying the economy of the state through agriculture, saying that this is a step in the right direction. He pleaded with the governor to pay the union the sum of N7.6m promised it by the past administration in the state and provide the union a bus for official engagements including a monthly subvention of N1.m for administrative runs.
On the delegation were members of Board of Trustees, Patrons and the Executives of AFCUL and the Chairman Local Government Service Commission cum Chairman Local Pensions Board, Chief Dan Egbeogu who is also a patron of the unit. He was full of praises for the governor for his laudable achievements in the agricultural sector. High point of the occasion was making the governor Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu the Grand Patron of the Union.