President Muhammadu Buhari has stated that the Federal Government attaches great importance to Agriculture as a means of diversifying the economy in the face of current dwindling crude oil price.

The President bared his mind while declaring open the 55th Annual General Meeting of Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), holding in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.

In his words, “agriculture must cease from being treated as development programme. Agriculture must be treated as business.”

Buhari, who was represented by Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, Alhaji Umar Farouk, said the present administration was focusing on the development of agricultural value chain.

According to him, agricultural value chain allows the integration of all segments of the value chain, including Production, Processing, Storage and Marketing.

“Our goal will be to pursue government supported private sector agriculture value chain to make agriculture more productive, efficient and competitive,” he contended, stressing that, “this would provide enough food for domestic supply and create jobs through agriculture value chain.”

The President said that Nigeria has the richest agriculture-based mineral resources in Africa, adding that the country, nay; Africa has no reason being food importing continent.

Earlier in his speech, National President of NACCIMA, Mr. Edem Bassey, described the association as a paragon of economic and social development in the country.

Edem noted that the theme of the conference, “Policy consistency in agricultural value chain: a key to socio-economic development”, was carefully chosen in view of the current effort at diversifying the economy.

“I want to assure the President that, we in NACCIMA shared the sentiment with the Federal Government,” he said.

Speaking, Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade, explained that the state was willing to collaborate with the organized private sector to grow the economy of the state, especially in the agriculture sector.

One of the participants, Mrs. Saka Cynthia, from Ogun, described this year’s AGM as very rewarding and interesting.

Our correspondent reports that this year’s AGM was like a way forward for all entrepreneurs, industrialists, manufacturers and the organized private sector to look inwards for maximum progress.

General Manager, Rivers State Newspaper Corporation, Mr Celestine Ogolo (middle) in a group photograph with exco of Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors, during their courtesy visit to the corporation, last Friday. Photo: Nwiveh Donatus Ken