Foundation Wants JonathanTo Participate In Agric Show

L-R: Head, Agriculture and Environment Desk, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Mrs Nkechi Okoronkwo, National Coordinator, National Agricultural Foundation of Nigeria , Dr Samuel Negedu, acting Editor-in-Chief of NAN, Mr Joe Bankole and National President of NAFN, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, during NAFN President’s visit to NAN headquarters in Abuja recently.

The National Agricultural
Foundation of Nigeria (NAFN), an NGO, has called on President Goodluck Jonathan and other leaders to participate in the forthcoming annual National Agricultural Show, to encourage farmers.
The Chairman, Board of Trustees of the organisation, and former Governor of Nasarawa State,  Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, made the call when he fielded questions from journalists in Abuja recently.
Adamu, while sensitising Nigerians to the forthcoming seventh edition of the show, said the presence of a country’s leader at such an event would indicate to the people that he (the President) is on the driving wheel of the transformation process.
We plead with the government to show the way. I went to Kenya, I saw the president of the Republic of Kenya attend agricultural shows not once. When Mbeki was in government in South Africa, I saw him at a show.
“If Nigerians wake up and see their dear president at an agricultural show, it’s a symbolic, positive expression that Mr President is on the driving wheel of agriculture.
“He doesn’t have to have half a hectare of land in his place to say he is a farmer; but because he is the father of this nation, his being seen there says a lot.
“We are still pleading; it’s about the nation; it’s about agriculture; this thing we are doing will outlive us; so we want the leadership to identify with it.
“If the president is coming there you can rest assured it is like blowing a whistle.
“In some countries, National Agriculture Show is a public holiday; in Ghana here, they declare public holiday to make it possible for people who want to attend to attend.“
The Tide reports that the National Agricultural Show is an annual event that showcases Nigeria’s abundant agricultural potential, resources and products.
The foundation, being the organiser of the event, usually partners with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and AFAN, and using the platform to commemorate the World Food Day celebration.
The show also promotes agro-related activities and exposes the country’s potentials with a view to improving the economy and enhancing the development of the agriculture sector as well as  income generation among the people.
Adamu, who is also the Chairman, Senate Committee on Solid Minerals, decried the country’s inability to meet its commitment to allocating 10 per cent of its national budget to agriculture.
The target was enshrined in the 2003 Maputo Declaration signed by African leaders.
“We are the biggest country in the continent, we have the highest number of mouths to feed in the continent and smaller nations in Africa ordinarily should look up to Nigeria for leadership for example.
“We have crises in the country; security sometimes. What brings about some of these issues is hunger.
“If there’s any sector that can employ Nigerians today that I know, it is agriculture; because it is number one.
“I attended a conference in South Africa, Johannesburg. I saw that Burkina Faso has done better than we have. I’ve seen that Benin Republic has done better than we in terms of meeting this target.
“They are not in 10 per cent but they have given much higher allocation to agriculture than we are doing.“