Expert tasks FG on technology to address food security, agric development

Towards improving the agricultural sector in the country, a stakeholder has decried the neglect and low investments in agribusinesss by Africa leaders, saying the continent is not doing enough to address food security.

Speaking to newsmen in Benin, Director Programme and Commercialisation, African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF),  Nairobi,  Kenya, Dr. Emmanuel Okogbenin said African government have been paying little or no attention in driving agricultural development in Nigeria and across the African continent. He lamented a situation where the development of the agribusiness sector in Africa received very little funding from the government, unlike the developed world.

‘If farmers are not buying into technology, there cannot be a change. African leaders are not investing enough in agriculture. If you take a look at the Malabo declaration, the African governments were to spend 10 per cent of their national budget on agriculture. As of today, as I speak to you, it is less than fou per cent.

“Working in Africa, Nigeria is a very strategic country because of its population. Nigeria is the biggest producer of yam and cassava in the world.

“We are still not there because of the yield levels. In fact, Africa’s yield gap is about 70 to 90 per cent of the yield potentials of these crops. What it means is that farmers are not meeting the full potential.

“One of the things we are trying to do in my position with AATF is to see how we get farmers not only to get the technology, which some of them don’t get, but to see how well they use it. And to let people know there is an opportunity in agribusiness.” He called for concerted efforts to make the sector a thriving business, saying that Agribusiness all over the world is a money spinning venture.

“We are building capacity. We are providing farmers’ information on technologies. We are creating awareness and giving farmers the right communication. We are also trying to build a value chain by networking and linking each stakeholder in the chain with one another. Basically, you alone in the chain cannot work, so we are telling people to understand there are benefits when you work together.”