The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), John Odigie-Oyegun yesterday described the current recession as a blessing in disguise.
He spoke at the University of Benin, Benin City at the 61st Annual Conference of Agriculture/General Meeting of Association of Deans of Agriculture in Nigerian Universities (ADAN) and Awards.
The chairman said the APC-led Federal Government was committed to developing agriculture to make the people to think beyond crude oil. He explained that there is no country in the world that does not subsidise agriculture, adding it must be developed to become the backbone of the nation’s economy.
“The United States of America, which is the greatest economic power pays farmers to produce even the things that they don’t need. We have come to that level because the price of a barrel of oil has dropped.
“It is no longer a matter of choice that we must divert to agriculture. It is unforgivable that we behaved stupidly without a vision for so long. Agriculture is about 70 per cent of our growth and the vision would stabilise if we could grow even as low as three per cent,” he said.
While Governor Godwin Obaseki promised to collaborate with the university to develop agriculture in the state, the Managing Director, Presco Oil plc, Mr. Felix Nwabuko, urged the Federal Government to change its land management laws and governance to attain self-sufficiency in food production.
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