President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday expressed his frustration with the continued reliance of Nigeria on imported food and raw materials, despite the abundant resources and knowledge available in the country.
Buhari also admonished Nigerian universities to intensify their research to develop the COVID-19 vaccine to tackle the dreaded virus afflicting the country.
He made these remarks at the convocations of the Federal University, Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State and Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike (MOUAU), Abia State.
Buhari, who was represented by the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Mohammed Abubakar at MOUAU, said the agricultural sector, apart from helping the nation to attain food security, “remains the major driver in industrial development and diversification from heavy dependence on non-renewable mineral oil.”
The president added that the expectation of his government was for the universities of agriculture “to drive the rapid development of the knowledge and skills (needed) to increase local production of food and raw materials”.
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“We can and should be able to feed ourselves on the rich soils and diverse ecologies that God has endowed Nigeria with. We should be determined to wisely exploit the natural resources and inheritance of our nation to feed our people and possibly export to other nations.
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“Government expects that universities of agriculture should bravely confront the heavy dependence of our nation on imported food and raw materials with the view to reducing it to the barest minimum at the shortest possible time,” Buhari said.
Buhari, also the Visitor to MOUAU, said that the agricultural policy of his administration was focused on achieving a sustainable green economy.
But he emphasised that the universities of agriculture “must play their crucial specialised role in catalysing the development of the agricultural sector” to achieve the government’s stated goal.
Buhari promised that efforts were being made by his government “to put in place policies and programmes to strengthen agencies and parastatals to provide the enabling environment for increased production”.
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