To tackle hunger, mobilize citizens to engage in agriculture ‘ ACU VC advises FG
Worried by the ravaging hunger in the country, Vice Chancellor, Ajayi Crowther University, (ACU), Oyo, Prof. Timothy Abiodun Adebayo has advised federal government to mobilize the citizens to massively engage in agriculture, saying Nigeria has no business with poverty if we take full advantage of our climatological gifts.
The Vice Chancellor who is a professor of Agriculture spoke at the Teaching and Research Farm of the university during the third fish harvesting exercise where members of the university community and the public bought fresh fish.
Prof Adebayo who argued that “Nigeria has no business with food shortage and food insecurity if only we can take advantages of our good weather and land”, urged government to reenact the 1978 Operation Feed the Nation policy in which Nigerians were mobilized to engage in both small and large scales farming.
According to the Vice Chancellor, “rain has started, let government mobilize people to go into farming and other aspects of agriculture, in no time, the country will witness food abundance and there will not be public outcry of “Ebi n pawa”, “we are hungry” protest.
“We are blessed with good weather and good land. Why are we complaining about hunger and food shortage? With almost everyone taking to agricultural engagement, we will have more than enough food for our local consumption and exports”, he stressed, adding that, “as far as I know, we shouldn’t be complaining about food scarcity in as much as the land is still yielding”
“Look at what we are doing here. This is our fish farming experiment. Are you not delighted seeing our fish? We are making money. People are coming to buy fish. Everyone is happy. Tell people to go back to the land. When we tickle the land, the land will yield its resources. We will not be hungry” Prof. Adebayo stated.
