DESMOND Ibe, a lecturer in the Department of Economics, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), has advised the Federal Government to set up farm settlements in all the local government areas in Nigeria in order to boost food production.
Ibe gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Nsukka on Monday.
He said that the establishment of farm settlements in local government areas would not only boost food production but provide employment to millions of the nation’s jobless youths.
He said: “Government should consider establishing farm settlements in every local government area in the country to boost food production and provide employment for millions of Nigerians. “Millions of jobless youths in the country, who are roaming the streets looking for non-existent white-collar jobs will be gainfully employed in the farms.
He said that aside from providing employment and food in abundance, the farms would become a major revenue earner for the councils.
He recalled that some of the premier universities in Nigeria, like UNN, were built with proceeds from agriculture in 1960s.
He said that many of the developed nations made huge investments in agriculture, which helped to boost their foreign exchange earnings.
“Diversifying Nigeria’s economy through agriculture is a good development that will earn the country more foreign exchange through the exportation of more agricultural products,” he said.
Ibe blamed the nation’s current economic downturn on its over-dependence on oil as major a source of foreign exchange.
He said, “With farm settlements in every local government, the nation’s revenue profile will experience a boost and it will help the government to embark on more developmental projects.”
The lecturer said that with millions of youths employed in agriculture, violent crimes, like kidnapping, armed robbery, banditry and terrorism, would become a thing of the past.
“When youths in the country are actively engaged in agriculture they will have no time to commit crime.
“Majority of youths go into crime because they are idle from morning till night, lending credence to the old saying that “an idle mind is a devil’s workshop”, he said -NAN

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– June 18, 2019 @ 08:05 GMT |