Deputy Governor of Delta State, Monday Onyeme, has revealed why the state government is investing in the agricultural sector.
He said that apart from the fact that agriculture is a great employer of labour, the government also wants the state to be the food basket of the country.
Onyeme made the disclosure when members of the Coalition of Delta State Farmers, led by Mr Loveday Takim and the state chapter of the Poultry Farmers Association of Nigeria, led by Chief Eric Tomfawei, paid him a courtesy visit at his office in Asaba.
“Our administration is paying serious attention to agriculture because the agricultural sector provides the largest source of employment for Deltans; it is the largest industry and the most sustainable business that can take Nigeria out of extreme poverty,” he said.
The deputy governor noted that Nigeria has a comparative advantage if it concentrates on developing its agricultural sector rather than competing with advanced countries in the area of technology.
He said: “We cannot compete with the advanced nations of the world technologically; we could improve on our agricultural industry and conveniently compete with them in that area because God has blessed us with good soil and abundant landmass.
“Let us begin to face reality: if we don’t develop our agriculture, we cannot go anywhere as a nation; we cannot compete with the Western world on information and communication technology, because they will always be steps ahead of us in that area and we will be trying to catch up, but we can compete with them in agriculture; we can even exceed them because God has blessed us with good land for agriculture; even our seeds and water are good for production; all that we need is to concentrate our energy where we have the strength, so, as a nation, agriculture is the way to go.”
He then added, “Our administration will do its best to ensure that we advance agriculture in Delta State and make the state a focal point of reference within the federation.”
