By Uwumarogie Peter
Gombe – Alhaji Abbas Na-Bingi, a cotton farmer in Gombe State, says President Muhammadu Buhari’s intervention in the country’s agricultural sector has created more jobs for cotton farmers.
Na-Bingi, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Gombe on Tuesday.
He said he had abandoned cotton farming before President Buhari’s administration as a result of poor motivation, adding that the Federal Government’s seriousness towards the sector gave him the needed motivation to return to farming.
According to him, cotton farming is one lucrative type of farming which many jettison because of the difficulties in getting buyers since textile industries in Nigeria are not as functional as they used to be.
Na-Bingi said the efforts of the current administration in resuscitating the textile industries which had improved the demand for cotton was commendable.
“I commend President Muhammadu Buhari for the changes we have seen in the agricultural sector. This has created more jobs especially in the area of cotton farming.
“Before this administration, I had abandoned cotton farming because there was no motivation in that regard. Today, our morale has been boosted by the Federal Government’s agriculture-friendly policies.
“Cotton farming is good investment and profitable enough but most farmers jettison this type of farming because of the market. As we know the textile industries has been in comatose.
“Since there were no industries to collect our produce, many abandoned cotton farming for rice and other crops.
‘‘Now that the Federal Government’s efforts in resuscitating textile industries are yielding results, we are back to cotton business.
“With the improvement in textile industries, demand for cotton has also improved. The Federal Government has really created the environment for cotton farming and today I am not regretting coming back to cotton farming,’’ he said.
Na-Bingi, who also grows rice, millet, beans, maize, said “agriculture has given me more than enough under this administration. This is one sector that can prove the strength of the nation.
“We have millions of hectares of fertile land that many nations do not have. Yet some youths will say they have no jobs. It is ironical but it is never late to go into agriculture.’’
He appealed to the Federal Government to keep the textile industries functional so that cotton farmers would not have issues marketing their produce.
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