BMO hails new encomiums for Buhari on agriculture

The recent assertion by the Senate President Dr. Ahmad Lawan that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has committed more resources to diversify the economy than any previous administration is a confirmation of the President’s relentless efforts, over the last six years, to boost food production and set the country on the path of accelerated growth and development.

Senate President Lawan made this declaration at the recent commissioning of a Poultry Farm Centre which the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) established in Gasamu, in Jakusko Local Government Area of Yobe State.

Reacting in a statement signed by its Chairman Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary Cassidy Madueke, the Buhari Media Organisation  (BMO) said the Senate President’s position has reinforced the view of most Nigerians, particularly those in the agricultural sector,  that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has been working assiduously to diversify the nation’s economy through massive investments in agriculture and infrastructures.

BMO commended the Senate President for demonstrating a high sense of responsibility and courage in acknowledging the government’s huge investment in agriculture and other sectors of the economy and for educating Nigerians on government policies and achievements.

“We urge other political leaders across the Federation to take a cue from the Senate President by taking advantage of all available platforms to educate their people on government policies and numerous achievements.

“Today the Buhari administration has invested substantially in agriculture, and the sector remains the biggest employer of labour. It’s also on record that agriculture has been growing at the highest rate under the Buhari administration than any other government since the return to democracy in 1999.

“Since his emergence as President,  he has repeatedly spoken about Nigerians being able to ‘produce what we eat, and eat what we produce’. A few months after assuming office, the government launched the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) in November 2015, to boost agricultural production and reverse Nigeria’s negative balance of payment on food”, the statement added.

“The programme targets those cultivating cereals (rice, maize, wheat etc.) cotton, roots and tubers, sugarcane, tree crops, legumes, tomato and livestock. Loans are often disbursed to the beneficiary farmers through banks. Upon harvest, the farmers repay by taking their harvests to ‘anchors’ who pay the cash equivalent to their bank accounts.

“A bright spot of the government’s effort has been in rice and maize production, as data shows both increased significantly, and Nigeria’s yearly production figures have been highest in the last five years”.

A streak of high production between 2014 and 2020 has taken Nigeria to the first and second spots among rice paddy and maize producers in Africa respectively, the statement concluded.