AWOTEIN George, the Head of Department (HOD) Fisheries and Aquatic Environment, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, has advised federal and state governments to encourage investments in agriculture.

George told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Port Harcourt on Monday that investments in agricultural subsector had become important due to emerging technologies that had made petroleum less important.

“New technologies will make oil irrelevant.  Agric is the key thing because oil is not a renewable energy,” he said.

The don said that apart from agricultural produce being used as raw materials for the industries, it also served as food for the populace.

“Agric is key because everybody needs food on daily basis,” he said.

The lecturer appealed to governments to establish farms villages for the youths at federal, state and local government levels.

According to George, there are many farm villages in Lagos State.

“As a result, foodstuffs are much, much cheaper in Lagos and Rivers states among others.’’

George said that the country was endowed with arable land favourable to the cultivation of one crop or the other.

He recalled that in 1960s and 1970s, the North produced groundnut, cotton, hides and skin among others, while palm oil flourished in East, cocoa in the West and rubber in defunct Mid-West.

George, who is also a farmer said that the commodities were the country’s sources of foreign income before the emergency of petroleum.

“If we realise the importance of agriculture and go back to it, it will affect the country economically

Awotein George, the Head of Department (HOD) Fisheries and Aquatic Environment, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, has advised federal and state governments to encourage investments in agriculture.

George told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Port Harcourt on Monday that investments in agricultural subsector had become important due to emerging technologies that had made petroleum less important.

“New technologies will make oil irrelevant.  Agric is the key thing because oil is not a renewable energy,” he said.

The don said that apart from agricultural produce being used as raw materials for the industries, it also served as food for the populace.

“Agric is key because everybody needs food on daily basis,” he said.

The lecturer appealed to governments to establish farms villages for the youths at federal, state and local government levels.

According to George, there are many farm villages in Lagos State.

“As a result, foodstuffs are much, much cheaper in Lagos and Rivers states among others.’’

George said that the country was endowed with arable land favourable to the cultivation of one crop or the other.

He recalled that in 1960s and 1970s, the North produced groundnut, cotton, hides and skin among others, while palm oil flourished in East, cocoa in the West and rubber in defunct Mid-West.

George, who is also a farmer said that the commodities were the country’s sources of foreign income before the emergency of petroleum.

“If we realise the importance of agriculture and go back to it, it will affect the country economically

-NAN

BE

– June 3, 2019 @ 18:09 GMT |