Audu Ogbeh , Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, has charged the Kogi State Governments on the issue of food security from the perspective of citizens’ right to food, second only to right to life.
Speaking at the recent Kogi state maiden agricultural summit with the theme ‘Investment Opportunities’ and the launching of ‘Fair Agricultural Project’ in Lokoja, Audu Ogbeh, who was represented by Golden Ayoade who also doubled as the president, Farm and Infrastructure Foundation (FIF) said the denial of rights of citizens to ask questions and hold governments accountable when their policies failed to address food issues is a genesis of our problem.
He posited that if food security was addressed from the perspective of right and policies were tailored to meet the food requirements of the people government policies and programmes would be taken more seriously.
However, the minister observed that plausible agricultural projects were often initiated by the Federal Government or external bodies maintaining that most states had lost touch of the fact that the primary function of agriculture was the production of food.
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He equally commended Kogi State government for blazing the trail as the first in the country to adopt the bottom-top-approach in ensuring food security through the launching of its Fair Agricultural Project (FAP).
Yahaya Bello, while speaking earlier commended the Federal Government’s giant stride in encouraging massive local production of rice which had facilitated the current sharp drop in the importation of the product to Nigeria.
Represented by Ayoade Folashade Arike, secretary to the State Government, Bello disclosed that his administration had keyed into the Federal Government’s programme of diversification of the nation’s economy to agriculture.
Bello said that his administration had allowed youth and women participation in agriculture to reduce the alarming unemployment situation and crime in the state adding that government had also encouraged the exportation of cassava and rice that are abundant across the state.
In his welcome address, Kehinde Oloruntoba, the state commissioner of Agriculture, gave kudos to the state government’s gesture when he declares a state of emergency on Agriculture by embarking on the mechanised system of agriculture to ensure food security and boost massive local production of agric products.
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The commissioner stated that Governor Bello’s administration procured Tractors and other farming equipment worth billions of naira and as well-established 1,000 fish ponds and another 1,000 boreholes to enhance agricultural activities across the state.
Paul Okatahi, facilitator of the programme and managing director of Kogi Agricultural Development Project (ADP), in his remark, challenged youths to embrace agriculture saying, “There are no longer White Collar Jobs to absorb them in the labour market”
Okatahi also called on the traditional rulers in the state not to relent in playing their complementary role of mobilizing and sensitising their subjects to embark on agric describing “The Sector as the only alternative for citizens to earn a living without stressing so much.
Victoria Nnakiaike, Lokoja
