LAGOS – June A university don, Dr Vide Adedayo, on Wednesday advised the Federal Government to develop improved technology to grow the nation’s agricultural production.
Adedayo, who lectures at the Department of Geography, University of Lagos (UNILAG), said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
He remarked that the agricultural sector and its resources largely remained untapped because of obsolete technology in use.
According to her, Nigeria has 71 million hectares of arable land but only half of it is being cultivated.
“People need to be encouraged to go into agriculture while there should be improved technology tailored to the needs of small scale farmers.
“This will eventually enable the small scale farmers to also improve their production.
“Through this, more arable lands can be cultivated for increased production,’’ she said.
The lecturer identified agriculture as the only sector with greater potentials for diversification of the nation’s income.
According to her, Nigeria is over-dependent on oil sector for revenue.
The revenue, she said, could also be generated from other sectors.
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The lecturer also observed that there was delay in the rainfall pattern, but noted that it would not be a problem to crop production because modern irrigation system was now available.
“We should stop depending on rainfall to sustain crop production.
“Irrigation can be deployed to make up for rainfall deficiency,’’ she said.
She also lamented the high volume of loses by farmers due to poor storage facilities.
She, therefore, implore agricultural authorities to provide efficient storage facilities with a view to stem losses due to perishable nature of crops.
Adedayo also advised the federal government to assist farmers with credit facilities to enable them prepare their land for cultivation and procure needed inputs. (NAN)
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