Prof. Mohammed Ishiyaku, Executive Director Institute for Agricultural Research, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, has hailed the agricultural policies of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Ishiyaku said the policies had made agriculture to be more profitable as they encourage more Nigerians to embrace farming.
The executive director made on Sunday in Zaria where he said farmers are now making more profits in agriculture since the Buhari administration had brought to the barest minimum the interference from outsiders into Nigeria’s agricultural production system.
“It is not the case in the previous years when the government will knowingly import maize, rice, soya beans and other grains from countries where the agricultural production system is more stable than our own system.
“By allowing such produce to come into Nigeria, it modulates our markets and makes farming very unattractive except for the people in rural areas that cannot do anything without farming,’’ he said.
The executive director, therefore, urged the government to allow the market forces of demand and supply as it is now to continue.
He reiterated that the importation of food from outside would jeopardise the gains towards achieving food security in Nigeria.
“This is one of the best ways to make farming more attractive to youth.
“What makes agriculture to be embraced by youth is the money that would come out of it; this may not sound acceptable to people but that is the truth.
“If they know that by investing N20,000 in agriculture they would get N60,000 profit, no matter how dirty it is they would go into it.
“If you like to bring air conditioned tractors and automated this and that if at the end of the day they cannot make profit out of it they will abandon it,’’ he said.
