We cannot continue to regard Agriculture as a hobby – Ofuani

The need for Nigerians to change their view of agriculture as an idle man’s hobby has been reiterated, with a view to ensuring food security in the country and sustaining the nation’s economy.

This was stated by the Director General of the Delta Capital Territory Development Agency, Clement Ofuani, while addressing journalists after the 10th inauguration ceremony and investiture of the 2015-2016 executives of the Asaba District Society of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), held at Grand Hotel, weekend.

Ofuani noted that the problem with the Nigerian populace is that most people view agriculture as a hobby for the idle man instead of seeing it as a business venture capable of making a man rich, and thus venture into it without considering all the variables.

“Agriculture is not a hobby. It is a business, and like other businesses, you cannot enter without considering your land, manpower, capital and other resources available. That is the reason why many people who go into agriculture end up producing so little and making even smaller gains. You must consider if the land you have is enough to fetch you sufficient gains.

“Some people just go into farming cassava with less than one hectare of land, and when the end product is out, they still have to sell in the same market with someone using up to fifty hectares of land for the same venture. The result is that he would not be able to get up to the same quantity the other man gets per hectare, even though he would have invested more time and energy” he explained.

He lamented that most people just graduate from schools, even after studying agriculture related courses, and they keep waiting for jobs from the government or big private establishments. This, according to him, leaves them frustrated and they end up blaming the government for their woes. He added that some others who venture it do so without considering all the variables and end up not producing enough for personal consumption.

He stressed the need for more people to venture into agriculture on a large scale, and encouraged the introduction of new technologies to increase production, as that would go a long way in ensuring food security in the country, providing jobs for the youths, and diversifying the economy for sustainable development in Nigeria.

 

Ruth Okwumbu