Agriculturist proffers solution to dwindling food sufficiency in Nigeria

A retired Director of Agriculture and state Coordinator of World Bank Assisted Projects in Cross River State, Hon. Duckham Okon Amah has advised the government to restructure implementation and procurement programmes in the agro-allied sector to boost food sufficiency in the country.

Amah made the plea while fielding questions from a LENS Reporter in Calabar on Thursday arguing that with the dwindling yield in food production due to the high cost of equipment and fuel to drive the value chain, it is needful for the government to re-strategies methods to achieve maximum results.

The Israeli-trained cooperative farm course participant wants the present administration to focus more on providing farmers with modern imputes like fertilizer and grants to enable them to overcome the global food problem which has adversely affected the teaming hungry population.

Hon. Amah who served in the Odukpani Local Government Area as Vice –Chairman and former state coordinator for Cashew Development in Commercial Agriculture Development Project, (CADP) and now the Peoples, Democratic Stalwart cautioned against bringing in religion into politics as this may further divide the country but expressed reservation over same faith ticket by political party presidential candidates in the 2023 general elections.

The PDP stalwart used the occasion to drum support for the party’s Southern Senatorial candidate Ntufam Ekpo Okon who he said has the requisite experience to change the narrative in representation and attract tangible development projects to the zone with his experience as a former Commissioner in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and ex-State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in Cross River State.

Ekpo Okon will face Ntufam Daniel Asuquo (Dansuki) of the Labour Party (LP) and Asuquo Ekpenyong Jnr. of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the forthcoming 2023 general elections in the state.

By: Archibong Emmanuel
(Snr. Reporter)