Shema: Agriculture is a must-do enterprise

To break the circle of unemployment in Nigeria and open the “window of opportunities” for young entrepreneurs, Agriculture must be taken as a must-do enterprise.

Speaking on Friday in Abuja at the ongoing World Economic Forum on Africa (WEFA), Governor of Katsina State, Ibrahim Shema, said the time has come for Nigeria see Agriculture as a major economic venture, as the sector can only succeed as a business.

He lamented that the sector, which used to be the mainstay of the country’s economy, has been neglected by successive governments, and this has led to the increase in the number of unemployed youths. He also expressed  regrets that farmers no longer receive government assistance for mass food production.

”The best government can do to grow the sector is to encourage them,” Shema said.

“Ordinary farmers cannot do it on their own; they need support and partnership to be able to produce in large quantities.”

He added that transportation overtime poses serious challenge, as pothole-ridden roads in some areas continue to hamper farmers from conveying their goods to the locations where they are needed. However, he expressed hope that with the ongoing federal government effort to resuscitate rail transport in partnership  with China, that bottleneck would soon be overcome.

Governor Ibrahim suggested the government should make the Agriculture sector attractive by setting up a farming village where pieces of land be allocated to young would be farmers who are also trained on modern techniques in farming for better yields.