Don Lists Agric Dev Problems

A former commissioner for Agriculture in Rivers State, Professor Bernard Onuegbu has identified lack of interest in farming among youths due to crude oil and gas wealth in the country as responsible for the neglect of agricultural sector.

Professor Onuegbu who is a lecturer in the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt said that the discovery of oil and gas in commercial quantity with its attendant huge revenue had greatly reduced public and private sector investment in agriculture.

Speaking in an interview with newsmen in Port Harcourt, the university don lamented that many people in the country are busy exploring avenues to earn money from oil wealth without working, pointing out that the situation makes government policies and programmes on agriculture a wasteful venture.

He, however said that some farmers had shown commitment and dedication to the sector, insisting that if more persons could show as much interest, the problem of food security, poverty and unemployment would be a thing of the past.

Describing agriculture as a vehicle for food production and creation of wealth, the former commissioner appealed to Nigerians, especially youths, to engage in agriculture in order to kill the apathy in the sector.

He disagreed with the critics of government’s  policies and programmes on agriculture insisting that government has envolved the right policies and programmes but the problem lies with lack of  interest among the people.

According to him, many Nigerians look down on farming as job for the lowly and elderly persons in the society and called for a change of attitude among the people.

He, therefore told Nigerians to realize that an alternative source of revenue exist in agriculture adding that most developed economies were without oil.

Isaac Nwankwo