Engineer Urges Govt To Hand Off Agric Projects

Agricultural projects have been described as capital
intensive and governments at every level should steer clear of such ventures.

In an exclusive interview with our correspondent in his
office recently in Port Harcourt, an agricultural engineer, Mr. Adaotu Umoroye
Muzan explained that governments the world over were noted for unnecessary
bureaucratic practices and no meaningful agriculture project could thrive under
such an environment.

He said that when government talks of due process it was
only a matter of semantics because in real terms nothing holistic comes out of
the “so called due process”, he said.

Engr. Muzan said that most of the government agricultural
programmes collapsed because unnecessary managerial postions were created,
which according to him, only helped to promote official corruption.

According to him, another critical factor was the practice
were genuine farmers were always left out in the disbursement of funds as most
times, politicians in positions hijacked such processes.

He also blamed the intractable poor maintenance culture,
especially in the universities across the nation even in the institutions of
agriculture and called for a proactive measure to reverse the trend.

“In the universities, our equipments are all in a state of
decay which has negatively affected the practical side of agriculture”, he
said.

He further said that government cannot fund agriculture and
advised that private and corporate individuals should be left to handle
agricultural projects as it was done in developing countries of the world.

However, he said government can facilitate the process by
creating an enabling environment for investors by providing waivers on
agricultural equipment importation into the country.

Explaining that agriculture was the highest employer of
labour if properly harnessed, Engr. Muzan said that government should make
taxes bearable for investors.

While explaining the importance of mechanised agriculture,
he said government has been unwilling in the past to effect change and that has
been the nation’s undoing.