A lecturer at the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ogun State, Prof. Muftau Atayese has called on Nigerians, particularly wealthy businessmen and women, to invest heavily in agriculture as is the case in oil and gas, and real estate sector to ensure food security, environmental sustainability and human health.
Dr. Atayese lamented that the paradigm shift in the values and virtues of Nigerians these days bordered on crave for quick money, saying it is the reason nobody wants to venture into farming, a situation he regarded as a national disaster.
He also reckoned the many Nigerians show little or no interest in agriculture today because it has long gestation, takes energy and risks before Returns on Investment could manifest.
The Professor of Crop Nutrition made this known on Wednesday, October 1 while speaking with newsmen shortly after delivering the 83rd inaugural lecture of the FUNAAB which was chaired by the University Vice Chancellor, Prof. Olusola Kehinde.
He expressed the confidence that if the high premium placed on establishing (fuel) filing stations across the nooks and crannies of the country by Nigerians could be channelled towards investing in agriculture, all the cries that “there is no rice,” “rice is expensive” and so on, by Nigerians would all disappear.
According to him, if a significant number of the Nigerian populace returned to the farm, food items would be cheaper through increased food production and there would also be enough to meet local demand and the surplus for export or reservation.
“The values and virtues of Nigerians these days are about quick money, they don’t want to struggle and this is a national disaster. That is the same thing that happened to our oil.
“We were not the only country that had oil as at the time oil was discovered, but because it was so easy going to the shores, to bring the oil out and that is the nature of our investments now. Nobody wants to go into agriculture because they feel it will take some time, energy and risks. But the fact is that it is easier than every other investments except that the gain does not come immediately unlike others.
“You can imagine the numbers of the petroleum fuelling stations we have across the country! But just merge three (3) dealers of petroleum fuelling stations and ask them to go into a place like Yewa where they are planting rice. The idea is that you don’t have to retrain them because the skill is innate.
“Now they may want to complain of insecurities I’m the farm, but let me remind them that these people already have securities at their respective fuelling stations just like they also have in every other investments they are into. So, why can’t they replicate the same security in the farms? If you invest in the North and South, you will gain from it. That is the only way out, nothing else.
“So, all these shouting that ‘there is no rice; rice is expensive’ and so on will all disappear if all should go to the farm and it will be cheaper. All over the world where there are food, people always priorities going to the farm,” Atayese submitted.
Delivering his lecture titled, “Securing The Producer: Crop Nutrition And Food Security,” he advocated for innovative strategies and transformative change in the realm of crop nutrition, warning that modern agricultural practices pose significant issues, including soil degradation, nutrient depletion and detrimental effects of chemical fertilizers on the environment.
To address the challenges, the inaugural lecturer recommended that researches and farmers should focus on organic farming, bio-fertilization, precision agriculture and integrated nutrient management to increase crop yield and quality.
He urged government agencies and agro – allied industries to support research initiatives that are focused on crop nutrition, soil health and sustainable agriculture.
He also tasked Federal Universities of Agriculture in the country to lay emphasis on innovative nutrient management techniques in agricultural training to elicit the interest of both the students and farmers.
