Obasanjo laments declining number of farmers

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has lamented the declining number of farmers in the country, with the youth showing total apathy to farming.

The former president, therefore, advocated increased incentives from the federal, state and local governments in Nigeria to stimulate the interest of graduates in agriculture with a view to making farming profitable and attractive to the youth.

Chief Obasanjo, while speaking in Ibadan on Friday during the inauguration of the ‘Feed Africa Committee’ of the Centre for Human Security, said the government at all levels should create incentives that could stimulate their interest in farming.

“We must make farming profitable by making incentives available to interested youths. Incentives must be made in the areas of land available to the interested youths and graduates of agriculture.

“They must have access to loans and have specialised training on the kind of crops to grow. After these have been provided, they must be sure that there is a market for their produce,” he said.

Obasanjo, whose regime initiated Operation Feed the Nation (OFN), expressed worry that the human security would be threatened if there was no abundance of food for the teeming African population.

He disclosed that the Obasanjo Farms Nigeria (OFN)/Delta partnership was a pilot project aimed at increasing the awareness of and improve the skills on poultry management, create employment opportunities and improve human security through production of improved quality of animal protein-based food.

He identified the task of building a successor generation of farmers as a challenge for Nigeria.

“Farmers have not been treated well in Nigeria. The problem now is how to build a successor generation of farmers. This is a great challenge now in Nigeria. If you go to my village, the youngest farmer is a little younger than me. How then can we ensure that the youth get into agriculture?”

According to him, the Delta State governor has provided the enabling environment for the partnership.

He added that about 150 people had been employed directly to work on the farm and would increase to thousands when the programmes fully became operational.

Director of Centre for Human Security, Professor, Peter Okebukola, urged the government to formulate and implement agriculture-friendly policies in order to eradicate poverty, provide employment for the unemployed by encouraging them to engage in agriculture.

He noted the ageing population of farmers in the country would create insecurity for Nigeria’s future if the government failed to encourage youths to engage in farming by providing incentives that would endear them to farming.

Members of the committee included Professor Akin Mabogunje; Professor Peter Okebukola; Professor Isaac Adeyemi; Professor E.Aiyelari; Professor Olusola Oyewole; Profesor Michael Filani; Professor Janice Olawoye, among others.

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