…Urge for trainning of farmers, provision of incentives to farmers
….says Africa is rich, Nigeria is rich yet people are struggling.
By Paul Effiong, Abuja
An Agriprenueur and Chief Executive Officer, CEO, Davidorah Nigeria Limited Segun Alabi has called on African Farmers, investors horticulturists and other players in the agricultural value chain to add value to all exportable farm produce produce in the continent before their export in order to guarantee food security and create abiding wealth for the nations.
In a strongly worded address presented during a press briefing, held yesterday at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja the Chief Executive Officer of the firm highlighted the paradox of a resource-rich continent that is battling with economic hardship, stressing that Africa’s challenge lies not in scarcity but in its long-standing failure to capture value across production chains.
According to him, Nigeria and the entire Africa have given so much to the world yet continent that has given so much to the word yet have received so little in return.
The agricultural expert and exporter of pinnacle also used the opportunity to query political leaders, asking how can a continent so blessed remain economically constrained and impoverished?
He, however pointed out that for many decades as a nation Nigeria has exported our wealth in its rawest form, we grew the crops, we harvested the fruits and we shipped them out.
On the way forward for the agricultural sector, the group dosclosed
He further explained; “Davidorah Farms has built large-scale pineapple production farms”.
According to him:”They have also import them back processed, packaged, and priced higher.
Further more, the CEO lamented that by lack of political will, political leaders and successive governments have also exported raw materials, import finished products export jobs and import unemployment.
The firm however advocated for the creation a dynamic system where:
farmers can earn more, investors gain returns adding that Nigeria earns foreign exchange
Meanwhile the group was optimistic that under judicious management of resources by competent qualified farmers and experts in Nigeria, food and other fundamental basic daily requirement might be achieved even it urged government at all levels including it political leaders to urgently rethink and reinvest into agriculture as survival slot.
He, however identified major problem in the agricultural sector as being structural adding that such has affected the nation’s future including her populations.
