Former Commissioner for Agriculture in Ekiti State, Dr Bode Adetoyi, has urged president-elect, Bola Tinubu, to address challenges in the agricultural sector.
Adetoyi, addressing reporters, said farm mechanisation must take the lead, as Nigeria has only 7,000 tractors as against 2.5 million tractors needed for full mechanisation.
“Issues surrounding mechanisation must be addressed as most farmers still use crude implements. Another challenge is a poor variety of seeds and seedlings/yield gap. Farmers need to use high-yielding seedlings to enhance production and raise profits.
“Most of the states don’t have agricultural extension agents whose role cannot be silenced as they advise and update farmers on technologies, high yielding crop varieties and train farmers on best practices.
“Other areas Tinubu must look into are the absence of storage/processing facilities and the land tenure system whereby the Land Use Act of 1978 must be removed. This system does not make land available for investors. Nigeria has 33 million hectares of arable land, but how many are available for commercial purposes?”
Oreoluwa is an accountant and a brand writer with a flair for journalism.
