The Agricultural Transformation Action Plan (ATAP) of the Nigeria could create 3.5 million jobs and add 20 million tons of food to the supply chain by 2015, according to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina.
Adesina told journalists in Abuja on Thursday that to achieve this goal, the value chains of several priority crops were being developed under the transformation program and listed the crops as cassava, rice, cocoa, oil palm and sorghum as well as fisheries and livestock.
“We are transforming this sector now so that we can move Nigeria from being an import dependent country to a self-sufficient nation in food production. The idea is also to turn it into an exporting country.
“The goal of agriculture transformation action plan is to add additional 20 million metric tons of food to our national food supply” he added.
The minister said that the transformation became imperative because agriculture remained the most crucial sector of the economy, employing 77 percent of the work force and accounting for 44 percent of the GDP.
He said it was unacceptable for Nigeria to spend more than $800 million annually importing basic items which it had the capacity to produce, especially rice, fish and sugar.
“We are even importing fish for all of the great things that God has blessed us with like water, with lakes and creeks” he indicated.
Adesina noted that such development contributed to the growing food insecurity in the country and said it was regrettable that Nigeria, which in the 1960s was a major player in the global food market, was performing below expectation.
Source African Press Agency
African News from NetNewsPublisher.com
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