Obasanjo Seeks Thailand Support For Nigeria’s Agric Sector

Former President of Nigeria, His Excellency Olusegun Obansanjo

Abeokuta, Nigeria, December 8, 2017// – Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has requested the support of the government of Thailand in improving Nigeria’s agricultural sector.

Obasanjo, in a statement made available to SATURDAY INDEPENDENT by his Media Aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, hinted that the present administration in the Nigeria was planning to procure 2,000 tractors to boost mechanised farming in the country.

Obasanjo said this, according to the release, through one of his aides, Abraham Idowu Akanle, at the Thailand Tractors and Agric-Machinery Show (THAITAM 2017), organized by the Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP), Ministry of Commerce, which began at Kasetsart University, Thailand, on Thursday.

The former President also urged other countries to partner with the initiatives of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in order to ensure increased local production of food crops in the country, adding that Nigerian’s agricultural support requires international support.

Obasanjo, who identified Nigerian’s growing population as an advantage other international communities can tap into, further sought for the assistance of Thai government in the area of machineries that could convert shafts from rice mills in the country to briquettes for household uses.

He said, “Nigeria’s agricultural sector requires international support in its programmes and initiatives such as the cattle breeding improvement, climate change, standardization and certification of food products, seed development and improvement, capacity building, among others.

“As I am made to understand, President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in Nigeria is working vigorously to commercialize and mechanize Nigeria’s agriculture by introducing about 2,000 units of tractors and various kinds of harvesting and processing equipment to mechanize our farming annually, while also building Nigerian local content and capacity to sustain and advance mechanization to suit best practices worldwide.

“I expect that Thailand and other countries alike will tap on this initiative and partner with the Nigerian government towards lifting the agricultural sector and ensuring increased local production of food crops. Nigeria’s population, which would grow up to 200 million people by the year 2020 could also be an advantage for international partners to tap in.

“I further seek assistance from the Thai government on area of machineries that could convert shafts from rice mills in the country to briquettes for household uses, such that life could be taken back to the rural areas, mostly for women and youths.

“I will kindly implore the Thai government to explore further areas of collaboration with the Nigerian government in order to tackle the enormous challenges facing the nation’s agricultural sector. I do hope that we can continue to count on the support of Thai Government in up-scaling the growth of Nigeria’s agricultural sector.”

Obasanjo emphasized further, “It was known fact globally that agriculture is the driving force of the Thai economy – not just figuratively, but literally as well, since its mechanization has expanded in recent years, along with its technical standards and level of technology.

“The agricultural machine manufacturing sector has played a major role in this development, which is one of the most important pillars of agriculture. I have no illusions that this year’s show of agricultural

machine industry and machine is going to engender prospects and growth for manufacturers and traders alike.”

Obasanjo, who went further to acknowledge the rapid growth of the sector in Europe and USA, lamented that the African continent, including Nigeria, was not a good story to tell.

“As we speak today, Europe is over-mechanised, USA is completely mechanised, but I regret to state that in African countries, including Nigeria, only five per cent of farm labour is done using tractors.

“However, we, as Nigerians, appreciate the fact that there is the need for renewed commitment to end unbridled importation of all kinds of food items, making the country self-sufficient in food in order to deepen and widen the Private Sector-Driven Agricultural Mechanisation Framework (PSDAMF) strategies in partnership with local fabricators and manufacturer representatives.”

 Independent.ng 

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