Food Security: FG targets five million jobs from €995m agric project

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By Francis Ogwo

The Federal Government has revealed plans to create five million jobs for farmers under its €995m agricultural mechanisation programme.
The programme, aimed at boosting food security in the country would involve the provision of tractors and other farm machineries for the farmers under a lease agreement.

This was made known in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to President Buhari on Agriculture, Dr. Andrew Kwasari, who said the project targets boosting food security in the country.

Speaking further, he said tractors and other farm machineries would be provided for the farmers under a lease agreement.
Under the initiative, it added that facilities comprising tractors and other agricultural machinery were expected to be leased out to farmers, while adding that it would come under the in-kind facility for agricultural mechanisation.

The statement added that the machines would come from Brazil and that food crops with about 35 million nutritional effects would be produced, creating at least five million jobs for Nigerians.

It also added that the machines would “set the basic foundation across 632 local government areas for proper agricultural service”, and that the operations would be privately managed in a competitive manner after being acquired on lease for a fee.

Kwasari kawasakihat “Services ranging from land preparation to harvest and storage will be provided timely and on-demand to all farmers, in a move to enhance the productivity of smallholder farmers that don’t need to own tractors and implements.

“Over 142 agro-processing factories will be situated across all senatorial districts to create aggregation, intermediary and final processing of the increased farm outputs on the back of the 632 primary production supporting service centres in the respective local governments.

“This is meant to tackle the primary issues of post-harvest losses commonly suffered by smallholder farmers, as well as to domesticate efficient supply chain operations where factories or aggregation hubs are closer to sources of raw material.” the statement added.

Additional information from the statement said, “the programme was tailor-made to cater for the needs of private operators of the service centres, farmers, extension workers, regulatory and research institutions, among others,” and that “three years from now, Nigeria would be food secured for the various plant and livestock-related commodities identified to be supported by the programme across the states”.

Many have argued that agriculture since its relegation to the background from its position as the country’s mainstay has lost its pride of place.

While various projects and programs have gained loud ovations from the general public, only a few have materialised and seen the light of the day.

Experts believe that if programs like these are executed without hitches and with favourable policies, the green sector may just become once again, attractive to investors and regain its lost fortunes.

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