A former National Organising Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Sen. Osita Izunaso has lauded the efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari in the agricultural sector.
He stated this in Abuja during his call to Bar, saying the numerous policies and programmes in the sector are targeted at ensuring that the country achieves self sufficiency in food supply.
According to Izunaso, the achievements which he listed as numerous, have also helped the country to save a lot of scarce foreign exchange, which would have gone into food importation.
“I am particularly delighted that the current APC-led administration has done so remarkably well in the agricultural sector and the achievements are there for people to see,” he said.
Izunaso also carpeted past governments for not showing enough passion and zeal for the development and growth of the sector as much as the Buhari-led administration has done.
“I am saddened by the fact that the country would have recorded giant strides in the sector if past governments had shown the needed passion and zeal that the current government has shown,” he stressed.
Apart from the conservation of foreign currency, he listed some of the strides recorded in the sector to include employment generation and expansion of local capacity in the agricultural value chain.
“What is also of great joy to me is that youth in the country have come to see the potentials in agriculture as a veritable avenue for employment generation.
“Many of them (the youth), who hitherto considered the sector as exclusively for the rural dwellers, have found it worth the while to migrate into the rural areas to engage in farming,” he said.
The APC stalwart also lauded the numerous incentives and support that have been extended to the farmers by government as a laudable.
“President Muhammadu Buhari has shown an uncommon passion for the sector via the financial and policy support to the sector.
“His government has not only provided administrative support and guidelines he has also provided hefty financial assistance too,” he said.
He particularly praised the government for its support for rice farmers through the Anchor Borrowers Scheme, saying the gesture is helping Nigeria to save about $3.5 billion as annual import bill for the commodity.
