By; OLADELE ADEDAYO, Ado-Ekiti.
Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, has called on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in the agriculture sector to stem the tide of hunger and poverty ravaging the country.
He stated this in Ado-Ekiti on Tuesday while declaring open an agriculture summit at the Abiodun Adetiloye Hall, Ado-Ekiti.
He noted that the hunger ravaging the country demanded a swift and drastic response from the nation’s leadership.
”The Federal Government must declare a state of emergency in the agriculture sector and also provide a bail out for the sector as people want to see food on their tables. It is then that people will be able to use agriculture to turn around their lives. States are already under bail out as far as salary is concerned and there is little most states can do.
“FG must also do more in road and power sectors. Most farmers find it difficult to get their produce to the market. There must be more investments in irrigation across the country too. Storage facilities are important as well. I implore the FG to complete and make functional, the silos it is constructing in Ekiti State. We need assistance to also finish the yam storage facility we are putting on in Ilasa-Ekiti.
“On our part, we have created farm banks to allow people who don’t have land for farming have access to farmlands across the state. They only need to contact us and we will make land available anywhere in the 16 local governments of the state,” he said.
Governor Fayose enjoined people to also engage in farming in their neighborhoods, saying such efforts would add up to become something tangible in the long run.
In his speech, the Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Aare Afe Babalola (SAN), said agriculture remained the only sure way to get the country out of its economic woes.
He listed a number of ways his university had engaged and encouraged others to engage in agriculture.
The Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Kehinde Odebunmi, said the summit was in line with the efforts of the state government to reposition the state’s economy.
He lauded Governor Fayose for his visionary approach to issues, saying the summit would come up with recommendations and suggestions that would move the sector forward.
Participants at the four-day summit are drawn from both the private and public sectors.
