Audu Ogbeh Nigerians may starve to death by 2050 - Minister warns
The Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, noted this yesterday during the budget defence of 2016.
The Presidency on
Thursday, February 4, lamented the danger awaiting Nigerians by 2050 if
optimal attention is not paid to farming.
The
Federal Government said the country's population would rise to 509
million by that year, noting that the present mode of farming will not
sustain the increasing population
The Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, noted this yesterday during the budget defence of 2016.
He
said it is imperative for major stakeholders to put all hands on deck
and work towards improving mechanized farming and irrigation.
Ogbeh said: “We
have written to state governments to encourage them to develop dams and
canals so that agriculture becomes an all year round activity and it is
not confined to the rainy season alone.
“Besides,
by 2050, Nigeria population will be very close to 500 million at the
current rate of growth. This is just 34 years from now. If we carry on
at the current rate of one crop per year, with very low mechanization,
Nigerians run the risk of starving to death.
He added, “we
intend to intensity and consolidate on the local staples, the yams, the
cassava, the beans, especially rice and wheat. Both of which consume
$11 million per day in import. The figure is going down a bit. We can’t
afford that in the long run because we don’t even have the resources.
“The
ministry has put necessary machinery in motion to stop the constant
bloody clashes between herdsmen and farmers. We have decided we are
going to develop massive paddocks across the country.
“What
the cows are looking for is grass and water. We have the capacity to
grow the grass we want not just any kind of grass but highly nutritive
grass for the cows to eat. If it can be done in Kenya, Saudi Arabia,
there is no reason why we can’t do it here.
"There
is sizable provision for grassing at hinterland, by developing water,
drilling of boreholes and small dams to irrigate those areas already
mapped out. In the process we hope that the cattle herdsmen would have a
more stable life.”
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