‘Agric Universities Need Priority Funding’

In order to realise the much talked about food sufficiency and security in the country, an agricultural engineer, Mr. Umor Muzan has said that Universities of Agriculture should be more funded than any other university in the country.

Engr. Muzan who made the assertion recently in Port Harcourt in an exclusive interview with our correspondent said that the various universities of agriculture in the country were doing their best in terms of research and extension services but their findings were not trickling down to the rural farmers.

He called for adequate funding from the Federal Government to enable such findings and result reach the rural farmers by adequately using the services of extension workers.

He advocated for community based farming whereby 400 level agriculture students work together with the rural farmers in their various localities to enable the farmers be abreast of the practical aspect of what such students have learned.

Engr. Muzan described as unfortunate the situation where students from poor homes were perceived to be studying agriculture in the nation’s universities and attributed this to government’s lack of political will in funding agriculture related programmes in such universities.

He also called for the establishment of functional Teaching Commercial farms in the universities of agriculture vis-à-vis the various University Teaching Hospitals.

He said such farms should not be for demonstrations alone but should be commercialized like their teaching hospital counterparts that generate revenue.

For students with enterprenureral capabilities, Engr. Muzan advocated for recommendations from the university authorities for loans and other incentives from the government to such students.

He said the move would enable such enterprising students establish their own farms and become business farmers in line with the present administration’s transformation agenda in respect to the agricultural sector and also curb unemployment.

He further said that in some universities of agriculture, it was not uncommon to see such enterprising students selling fish, chicken and other related products from their personal efforts during festive periods of the year like Easter and Christmas among others.