Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Sunday said there had been a tremendous growth in the agric sector since President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office, noting that the Nigerian agriculture sector’s performance grew by 14.27% in 2018.
Prof Osinbajo made the remarks in his keynote address at 4th National Discourse, organised by The Companion (an Association of Muslim Men in Business and the Professions) held at the main auditorium of the University of Lagos .
The theme of the discourse, which had as guest speaker, the President, Nigerian Academy of Engineering, Prof Fola Lasisi was “Food Security: Unleashing Nigeria’s Natural Potential for Self Sufficiency”.
He said the focus of the present administration was to achieve self sufficiency in agriculture, which, he emphasised that the Federal Government had been working towards through improved budgetary allocations.
“Self sufficiency in food production has been the major pillar of our administration’s economic policy, President Muhamadu Buhari actually set a clear direction on the issue of self sufficiency in food production. When he said that we must eat what we produce and must produce what we eat and we must consume what we produce. And we backed that with substantial budgetary allocation to agriculture. In 2015, it was N8. 8 billion but by 2016 we have moved up to N42.6 billion and by 2018, a N120.38 billion was allocated for agriculture and we have seen a tremendous growth in agriculture output, which grew by 14.27% as of 2018, so there has been a massive surge and massive growth in agriculture output,” he said.
Prof Osinbajo also called on the state governments across the federation to key into the Federal Government’s initiative to ensure self sufficiency in food production for the country.
“We also need the states to contribute to agriculture in the way that the Federal Government is driving agriculture in order to achieve the self sufficiency that we intend at achieving,” he urged.
Former governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola was chairman on the occasion, which also had in attendance, Mrs Noimot Salako-Oyedele, deputy governor of Ogun State; Prof Lateef Sanni, deputy vice chancellor, Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta; Otunba Femi Oke, chairman, All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Southwest and other prominent stakeholders.
