that the Federal Government will train
100,000 graduates as extension workers out
of the 500,000 graduates to be engaged as
teachers.
He made the declaration while launching
the agricultural sector roadmap entitled:
``The Green Alternative: Agriculture
Promotion policy 2016 to 2020’’ in Abuja.
The vice president also called for policy
alignment of all government’s economic
plans.
``This particular alignment is crucial. Just to
give some obvious example: you cannot
have a policy of encouraging local
production of food and on the other hand
have a high tariff on imported agricultural
equipment.
``There is no way that we can encourage
local production when we allow unbridled
importation of the same things that we are
trying to produce.
``There is no way we can do the scale of
agricultural production both for domestic
consumption and export without ensuring
local improved seedling development
alongside those that we import.
``And of course encouraging the work of the
agencies of the Ministries of Science and
Technology who have been making great
breakthroughs in local development of
agricultural equipment.
``Still on the issue of policy alignment, our
social investment programme, which is
possibly the largest in recent history, is
designed to align with the design of our
agricultural and other policies.
``And so, as part of the 500,000 teacher
corps that we will be engaging, 100,000 of
them will be trained as extension workers
for our farms.’’
Osinbajo further said that the road map had
identified the inability to meet productivity
challenge of self-sustenance due to
inefficient farming model inadequate seeds,
irrigation, and crop protection.
He said the administration met an economy
in meltdown and had to take difficult
decisions to repair the huge damage done
by dependence on oil, not investing in
infrastructure, deepening diversification and
increasing reserves.
The vice president said that it became
imperative to set the economy on the part
of inclusive growth with job opportunities for
the huge youth population through
positioning agriculture as the focus of
diversification.
Osinbajo said there was no doubt at all that
if the administration got the agriculture right
the economy would be right.
According to him, the home grown feeding
programme was anchored on the use of
locally produced food for primary school
pupils in the country.
Osinbajo also said that financing of
agriculture was also a crucial policy issue
with double-digit interest rate and
reluctance of banks to lend to the sector.
He said the administration must develop
some funding options in the short term.
``The anchor borrowers’ programme of the
Central Bank of Nigeria has proved to be
extremely useful.
``Indeed the phenomenal success of the
Kebbi rice programme where the farmers
moved from 3.5 metric tonnes per hectre to
7.5 metric tonnes per hectre was largely the
result of the single digit credit extended by
the anchor borrowers’ programme which
they used to purchase the right fertiliser
quality and other inputs.
``The Ministry of Finance has practically
concluded plans to recapitalise and re-
engineer the Bank of Agriculture.
``We expect that before the end of this
quarter, the Bank of Agriculture should be
ready to give single-digit-interest-rate loans
to farmers.’’
The vice president commended the
Agriculture minister, Chief Audu Ogbeh, for
developing an effective roadmap and
conducting an advocacy for the revamp of
the agriculture sector.
He further said President Muhammadu
Buhari’s urgent call to return to the farm
was one to embrace the truth of a renewed
vision of an agriculture-led economy as an
alternative to an oil dependent growth.
He said the agriculture revolution was a call
on all to farm, even small vegetable farms.
``Interestingly, the only commercial activity
that our constitution allows a public officer
is farming; so we have no excuse,’’ he
added.
In his reaction, the Kogi Commissioner for
Agriculture and Natural Resources, Dr Tim
Nda Diche, applauded the new agriculture
roadmap as a viable option for the
advancement of the nation’s economy.
He said that the political will of President
Muhammadu Buhari was high and the
agriculture diversification was best way to
avoid over reliance on oil.
...Vanguard nesw..
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