Traditional ruler tasks government on agriculture

The Olowo of Owo kingdom, Oba Ajibade Gbadegesin Ogunoye, has emphasised the need for government at all levels to return to agriculture, in the quest for more foreign exchange.

The monarch made the call at the closing ceremony of the 15th International Research and Development Conference of Children and Youth in Agriculture programme in Nigeria (CYIAP Network), held at the Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo State.

Oba Ogunoye lauded the organisers and management of the college for targeting youths and children in a bid to popularise agriculture, stating that the move would be beneficial to the citizens and the country in the long run.

The Provost of the College, Dr. Samuel Akintunde, expressed appreciation to the leadership of CYIAP for bringing the international conference to the college.

He reiterated his administration’s commitment to the development of the institution and readiness to support scholastic activities aimed at advancing academic progress in the institution. 
   Akintunde also expressed appreciation to the monarch, stating that by gracing the occasion, he had demonstrated his love for the College.

The National President, CYIAP Network, Prof. Olusegun Adekunle, advised youths in the country, to embrace farming, stating that the move would make them self reliant and become one of the major contributors to national development.

Emphasising the importance of agriculture in national development, Adekunle, who lectures at the University of Ilorin, Kwara State, explained that: “National security cannot completely be meaningful without youth empowerment and food security.”
According to him, for a nation to be fully secured, its citizens must have access to stable sources of income and food.

He lamented what he observed as poor infrastructure in agricultural practices in Nigeria, stating that the situation had resulted in increase in rural- urban migration by youth “who in their desire for white collar jobs, have left behind aged people in rural communities, whose output has reduced drastically, due to advancement in age.”

On the rationale for forming the organisation, Prof. Adekunle said it was established “for the purpose of making youth and children to become active agent of change towards quality of life enhancement, food security, hunger, poverty reduction, civic responsibility and job creation.

In his address, Chairman, Board of Trustees, CYIAP, Prof. Dickson Torimiro, explained that the major focus of CYIAP, whose membership cut across practitioners and professionals from various disciplines is to provide solution to a missing link observed in rural farm family studies.