Foundation stresses need to transform agric sector

The Olaoluwaseni Josua Adegoke Foundation (OJA-F) has stressed the importance of transforming the agricultural sector, saying it is the best way to eradicate poverty in the country.
Its President, Mr. Kofo Adegoke, stated this yesterday in Abuja while delivering a keynote address at the flag off ceremony of the OJA-F launched to immortalize their son who died of leukemia three years ago.
Adegoke lamented the enormous challenges in the agricultural sector, stating that the lack of access to land and fertilizer, finance, quality seeds, poor mechanism, is discouraging many from venturing into agriculture.
“The scourge of poverty in our land is unacceptable.
Every single farmer you see is a private sector person and only needs access to technology, training, finance, land, information, market and infrastructure, so we decided to boost and unlock all these at the targeted rural communities.
“While many gains have been made in reducing global poverty, nearly 50% of the people in the world still live below the poverty level.
“For us as Africans and Nigerians to succeed in lifting millions of people out of poverty and create a model of shared prosperity, it must focus on transforming its rural economies and a way to do this is for us to propagate the gospel of agribiz,” he stressed.
“We intend to through the foundation reach out to the poor and needy and empower them economically.
We will train people and put them through agricultural entrepreneurial skills development.
“I do agricultural business and this enabled me to foot bills for my son while he was seriously sick though we lost him, we wouldn’t have been able to do that without being economically empowered,” he said.
“In as much as we build the youth and women, we ought to enhance their local capacity to contribute to life saving programmes especially in children suffering some threatening diseases such as leukemia, sickle cell anemia, brain tumor, among other congenital cases mostly found in newborn babies and under five year old children,” he added.
He also charged medical practitioners to show more commitment and passion to healthcare service delivery, noting that the sector will improve if the human resources especially at government hospitals change their attitude towards patients.
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Also, guest speaker at the event, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Berra Computers, Abuja, Mr. Kola Adegoke, called for an overhaul of the health sector to avoid medical tourism while noting the inadequate provisions of child health concerns by the government.

 

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