Sequel to the rising cost of food items in the market, a stakeholder in the Niger Delta region and an Engineer by training,  AnthonyOmudu, has expressed displeasure over the untapped vast agricultural potentials in the region.
He said that the vast agricultural potentials of the Niger Delta region have been left untapped due to the domineering activities of the oil and gas.
Omudu, a member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, who disclosed this while speaking at a forum in Port Harcourt, recently, noted that many able bodied youths in the region now focus on how to make money through the oil and gas business.
He said that almost everybody in the Niger Delta now depends on food supplied from outside the region for feeding, while those that brought them make so much profits and smile to the bank.
“Apart from the oil and gas activities, some of the most fertile lands on earth could also be found in Niger Delta, but we have not taken advantage of this properly.
“The rich alluvial soil of the Delta, ports, good weather and climate, large markets and population of over 32 million persons from all over 40 ethnic groups, coupled with copious web of fishes and salt water bodies, make the region a viable hub for agriculture.
“There has been little focus on what agriculture is capable of helping the people to achieve, even as many wallow in poverty because of much focus on oil, which we don’t have control over”, he lamented.
Engr. Omudu further explained that agriculture and energy development would offer sustainable solutions that could salvage the Niger Delta from poverty and destruction, as the region is faced with explosive population growth, unemployment, and gross underdevelopment.
He said that the Niger Delta region, which is well known all over the world as an energy hub, is also very viable for robust agricultural activities.

By: Corlins Walter