Don't Miss


Home   >   Business   >   Industries   >   Agriculture   >   Agricultural sector needs urgent revitalisation – NSE

Agricultural sector needs urgent revitalisation – NSE

By on December 11, 2013

The country’s agricultural sector is currently experiencing a downturn and needs to be urgently revitalised, the Nigerian Society of Engineers has said.

According to the body, agriculture constituted the major source of the country’s income years back and played a crucial role in terms of job creation, offering employment to about 70 per cent of the population.

Speaking at a news briefing on the International Engineering Conference and Annual General Meeting in Abuja on Monday, the President, NSE, Mr. Mustapha Shehu, said agriculture used to provide sufficient raw materials for manufacturing outfits, food consumption and for the international market.

He said, “The current reality is that the sector is experiencing a downturn and needs to be urgently revitalised to enable us feature conspicuously on the world stage again as a dominant agricultural nation.

“The sector needs a fresh impetus to enable us to achieve food security for our citizens as a responsible nation and committed signatory to conventions of the United Nations among other ones that advance the fundamental right to adequate food.”

Shehu also stated that there was a need for rational planning of the water resources.

He stressed that inspite of the Federal Government’s roadmap and investment in water resources, the sector was still “wobbling.”

He added, “As engineers, these are our core areas of operation and we have the competence and wish to lay bare the ideas for the government and all concerned to leverage on them in the collective interest.

“It is against this backdrop that we have decided on strategies for transforming the agriculture and water resources sectors of the Nigerian economy as the theme for deliberations at this year’s conference.”

Shehu said the conference would have technical sessions that would look at topical issues like basic agricultural hydrology; water management; conservation and use; water and wind erosion control; and livestock production.

Others, according to him, are farm crop production; storage and preservation of agricultural products; and tractor manufacture, procurement and maintenance.

“We will also examine analysis of agricultural projects, cost analysis in agricultural process engineering, and water resources planning and management, among others,” he added.

 

 

 

[Punch]