RAJAB 11 1430 A.H.
FRIDAY JULY, 3 2009.
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Use oil money to develop agriculture, expert urges FG
An agricultural economist, Mr Tunde Afolabi, has appealed to the Federal Government to use the country's oil revenue to develop the agricultural sector.
Afolabi, a Senior Administrative Officer at the Tree Crops Development and Marketing Company PLC, made the appeal in Abuja in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
``Government should commit more money to the development of the agricultural sector.
``It is instructive that it was from the agricultural sector that Nigeria realised the money with which it developed the oil sector in the early 70s. Therefore, it is high time we used the oil revenue to develop agriculture,’’ he said.
Afolabi also urged government to encourage Nigerian farmers to go into massive production of Kolanut for the export market, to boost the country's foreign exchange earnings.
He noted with regret that the country was not producing enough quantity of Kolanut, a major export commodity, far beyond its average level of local consumption, to make it a major foreign exhange earner.
``We are not exporting enough kolanut; it is mostly consumed locally.
The commodity has numerous uses, particularly for industrial and pharmaceutical purposes.
``It can be processed into chocolate, Kola wine and caffeine, used in pharmaceutical and food preservation, as well as for food colouring and dyes, both in Nigeria and overseas,’’ he added.
Afolabi observed that the country had not been utilising the export potential of the commodity, and urged government to assist farmers with funds, to enable them to increase their production to meet the ever increasing demand in the international market.
``Our farmers are not educated to know the technology needed to increase their yield, and they are also not able to access the resources needed to package the commodity, to make it attractive to their buyers.
``It is the users who dictate the price in Nigeria, not the producers. That is why government should empower our farmers, so that our agricultural produce can attract higher prices in the international market,’’ he said.
