An expert Sam Korie has advocated greater emphasis on agriculture and rural development as a way of solving high level of social disorder and unemployment of the youths in the country.
Korie who was the guest of the second edition of the Ezumezu Isinweke virtual summit described agriculture as the science, art, or practice of cultivating the soil, producing crops, and raising livestock and in varying degrees, the preparation and marketing of the resulting products.
He said without agriculture, there will not be food to eat and people would starve to death.
“Agriculture is the bedrock of food security and the bedrock of rural development especially in terms of job creation because the majority of rural people, over 60 percent engage in one form of agricultural activities or the other,” he said.
He further described agriculture as serving a key role in rural development.
He said, “On a broader scale, it is recognised as a pathway for national transformation through socio-economic development and as a crucial engine for growth.”
The expert who worked with the World Bank and International Institute of Tropical Agriculture on Agricultural and rural development in Nigeria, outlined the various challenges of agricultural development in the country to include low availability of landmass, and access for many individuals as many of the lands were being sold and converted to residential purposes.
According to him, “The existing lands used for agriculture have been overfarmed and lost their nutrient value and can no longer produce enough to feed even the family talkless of being sold for profit.
“Other challenges that exist are poor access to farming technologies and inputs like mechanization, application of modern practices to intensify farming, access to fertilizers, improved seeds, irrigation facilities, capacity development, and even finance to purchase these essential inputs.
“We can also testify that a huge proportion of the commodities produced are lost after harvest because we do not have adequate storage facilities or the capability to process some of these farm outputs into processed or finished products. All the resources and energy invested, wasted.”
He also said, “If our agricultural sector is rebranded and various value chains are used in creating employment, farmers can attain high yields of farm products, which will assist in curbing the social malady in the rural areas especially Ihitte Uboma LGA of Imo state.”
He then challenged the government at various levels to ensure that the communities are as favourable and habitable compared to the outside urban communities by providing basic amenities such as water, electricity, basic and modern health care facilities, good housing, schools and even security.
“If our villages have all these things, why would anyone want to leave to places like Lagos only to end up selling recharge cards,” he said.
Ezumezu Isinweke is the apex socio-cultural association of Ihitte/Uboma people in Imo state.
