Yemisi Izuora
The federal government has urged the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to take introduction of Agricultural programmes and projects seriously to boost food in the region.
The Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Sen. Heinneken Lokpobiri gave the directive when he visited the NDDC in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
According to him, the Federal Government is ready to engage NDDC to make Agriculture a viable enterprise in the Niger Delta region.
Okpobiri said the step by the Federal Government is to ensure Agriculture in the region ranks with oil and gas as a source of income in the region.
He said NDDC has been directed by the Federal Government to engage young graduates and youths of the region in serious Agricultural programmes and training to boost food in the region.
The minister also said that Nigeria would soon be among the world’s Agriculturist countries in terms of food exports and to serve as an alternative to oil and gas in the country.
He advised young graduates and school leavers to engage in Agriculture, saying that Agriculture would soon pay more than oil and gas in Nigeria.
He explained that oil is gradually reducing its value as a major revenue to the country, saying that many countries in the world have discovered oil in their domains and that the situation has made the value of oil to decline.