agriculture
The Managing Director of Numerix Development Limited, Babs Aina, has pledged an initial $30 million investment in the new agriculture project being floated by Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State to rejuvenate the economy.
The agripreneur, who made the pledge at the state’s second Consultative Assembly which held at the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, promised that the figure would progressively increase to $100 million in the next couple of years.
Aina stated the investment would target maize and soya beans in the interim.
Earlier, the governor stated the state was poised to harnessing its agriculture potential with the ultimate ambition of becoming the food basket of the South West, in the short run and West Africa, in the long run.
With an expanse of land spanning 28,454 square kilometer, Ajimobi noted that the state has the largest arable land in the southern part of the country and human resources which give it a comparative advantage.
He, however, called for attitudinal change among the people, advising that the people must work hard to survive instead of relying on prayers alone for their needs.
“Now that oil, which is the major source of economy of Nigeria, has crashed, the government and our people should put to maximum use the available landmass, physical infrastructure and clean environment to invite investors for the economic growth of the country,” Ajimobi charged.
In his remarks, IITA’s Director General (DG), Dr. Nteranya Sanginga, stated it was lamentable that young people were no longer interested in farming due to the hostile environment.
As a researcher in one of the farms in the state, Sanginga stated he discovered that majority of those engaging in farming nowadays were old people and children, a development which he stressed, portends danger for the future of farming in the country.
He pledged the commitment of his establishment, noting that the project had the capacity to feed the country comfortably.
Guardian