President Buhari has assured that succour is on the way for farmers
negatively impacted by the excessive rains of this year. In a message to
Farmers’ Day 2018 held Saturday at Yenagoa, capital of Bayelsa State,
and organized by Nigeria AGIP Oil Company for farmers in Rivers,
Bayelsa, Delta and Imo States, the President stated:"Two weeks ago, the
National Food Security Council met and we approved a compensation
package for all flood impacted farmers and fishermen. I want to assure
all flood affected farmers and fishermen that you will be helped.This
government is with you in your time of need. As I speak to you now, the
modalities for this compensation programme are being finalized and very
soon, we shall start implementation."President Buhari commended the
theme for the Farmers’ Day, which is, Youths, Agents of Agricultural
Development in the Niger Delta, noting that farming is the bedrock of
the Nigerian economy. "Our future economic prosperity hinges to a large
extent on how we modernize and expand our agriculture," he
added. Underscoring the place of youths in developing agriculture,
President Buhari said:"Youths account for some 62% of our population.
This group, full of energy and drive, are the catalyst that will steer
Nigeria in the direction that will make us realize our full
potential.For many years, our God-given resources have been abandoned,
under-utilized or mismanaged. This is very apparent in the field of
agriculture. In the past three years, we aggressively pushed the
agricultural agenda with special emphasis on youth empowerment.Across
many value chains, we are supporting meaningful projects in partnership
with private sector players. This is the only way Nigeria can feed
itself in a sustainable manner. We are working very hard to enable the
youths actively participate in this agricultural revolution, and I take
this opportunity to congratulate you all on responding positively to
this call."The President urged youths to stay focused, stressing that
active participation is a patriotic duty, whose success will create
millions of jobs for many generations to come."We cannot afford to
remain a mono-product economy, relying only on oil as our mainstay. We
cannot continue feeding ourselves with imported food when God has
blessed us with all the bountiful resources we need to feed ourselves,"
he said.Thanking farmers across the country for their resourcefulness,
President Buhari disclosed that the country was on course towards food
self-sufficiency, adding that the importation of rice, maize, and other
grains had significantly reduced.He also informed that the Federal
Government was working to revive the River Basin Authorities, in order
to plan for lean times.On the excessive flooding, President Buhari waxed
philosophical:"Floods are a natural phenomenon that man cannot control.
I want to appeal to you all not to be dispirited, but to rise to the
challenges."He then reiterated the pledge that compensation would be
paid soon to farmers that suffered reverses.We will compensate farmers affected by flooding this year - President Buhari assures
President Buhari has assured that succour is on the way for farmers
negatively impacted by the excessive rains of this year. In a message to
Farmers’ Day 2018 held Saturday at Yenagoa, capital of Bayelsa State,
and organized by Nigeria AGIP Oil Company for farmers in Rivers,
Bayelsa, Delta and Imo States, the President stated:"Two weeks ago, the
National Food Security Council met and we approved a compensation
package for all flood impacted farmers and fishermen. I want to assure
all flood affected farmers and fishermen that you will be helped.This
government is with you in your time of need. As I speak to you now, the
modalities for this compensation programme are being finalized and very
soon, we shall start implementation."President Buhari commended the
theme for the Farmers’ Day, which is, Youths, Agents of Agricultural
Development in the Niger Delta, noting that farming is the bedrock of
the Nigerian economy. "Our future economic prosperity hinges to a large
extent on how we modernize and expand our agriculture," he
added. Underscoring the place of youths in developing agriculture,
President Buhari said:"Youths account for some 62% of our population.
This group, full of energy and drive, are the catalyst that will steer
Nigeria in the direction that will make us realize our full
potential.For many years, our God-given resources have been abandoned,
under-utilized or mismanaged. This is very apparent in the field of
agriculture. In the past three years, we aggressively pushed the
agricultural agenda with special emphasis on youth empowerment.Across
many value chains, we are supporting meaningful projects in partnership
with private sector players. This is the only way Nigeria can feed
itself in a sustainable manner. We are working very hard to enable the
youths actively participate in this agricultural revolution, and I take
this opportunity to congratulate you all on responding positively to
this call."The President urged youths to stay focused, stressing that
active participation is a patriotic duty, whose success will create
millions of jobs for many generations to come."We cannot afford to
remain a mono-product economy, relying only on oil as our mainstay. We
cannot continue feeding ourselves with imported food when God has
blessed us with all the bountiful resources we need to feed ourselves,"
he said.Thanking farmers across the country for their resourcefulness,
President Buhari disclosed that the country was on course towards food
self-sufficiency, adding that the importation of rice, maize, and other
grains had significantly reduced.He also informed that the Federal
Government was working to revive the River Basin Authorities, in order
to plan for lean times.On the excessive flooding, President Buhari waxed
philosophical:"Floods are a natural phenomenon that man cannot control.
I want to appeal to you all not to be dispirited, but to rise to the
challenges."He then reiterated the pledge that compensation would be
paid soon to farmers that suffered reverses.
