Abuja — Chairman, Board of Trustees of National Agricultural Foundation of Nigeria (NAFN), Abdullahi Adamu, has said the Nigeria's agricultural sector is still grossly under-developed and corruption-ridden.
Speaking at a media parley in Abuja on Thursday in preparation for 2014 National Agricultural Show, Adamu lamented that the growth of the sector is still stunted, occasioned by bad and unimaginative policies,
misplacement of priorities and corruption.
Adamu, represented by National Co-coordinator of NAFN, Dr. Samuel Negedu, maintained that the consequences of the under-development in the sector have resulted in the massive importation of food, hunger in the country, as well as rising inflation, poverty and unemployment.
According to him, "Agriculture is the country's biggest sector and the largest employer of labour, with over 70 per cent of Nigeria's active labour force engaged in and deriving their livelihood from it.
"The sector contributes to our Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and accounts for six per cent of our foreign exchange earnings.
"Yet, with all this, the sector has remained grossly under-developed, and its growth stunted, the result largely of bad and unimaginative policies, policy inconsistencies, misplacement of priorities and corruption.
"The consequences of this are that we have fallen far behind other countries in the food export market; we cannot feed ourselves; we have to import foods to the tune of over $3 billion annually.
"The annual rate of food imports is growing and becoming unsustainable, inflation is being fuelled by food imports, hunger is ravaging the land, poverty and unemployment are on the rise, fueling violent conflicts that slow down development in the country.
"As a result, our claim of being a sovereign and independent nation is being called to question.
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