Makurdi – The Bank of Agriculture (BoA) has called on farmers in the country to redouble their production of grains or face imminent hunger by 2050.
In a paper presented on Friday in Makurdi at the Exporter Enlightenment Forum organised by NEXIM Bank, its Managing Director, Prof. Danbaba Danju, said farmers needed to modernise their farming implements to meet rising food demand.
“Agriculture as currently practised in Nigeria must change to become more productive, efficient and sustainable to make food cheaper and readily available,” he said.
He said the current paradigm shift from oil to agriculture had become imperative owing to the collapse of the oil market with its crippling effects on dwindling revenues across the world.
He said the current efforts at re-engineering agriculture were not only useful in ensuring food security but for export purposes.
Danju said such exports would shore up the nation’s foreign exchange.
He also called for the organisation of value chain across global, regional and sub-national boundaries to promote food security, poverty reduction and ensure sustainable production.
According to him, the benefits accruable to such value chain are unquantifiable, explaining that it will reduce post harvest losses and decrease prices of food to consumers.
He said such efforts would reduce grain losses between 15 and 25 per cent; vegetables losses would be reduced between 40 and 50 per cent while livestock and fisheries would suffer less by 10 – 20 per cent and 40 per cent respectively.
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He urged farmers to adopt new technologies that promoted improved seedlings with high yielding capacity, to double their crop production.(NAN)