The permanent representative of the Centre for Convention on Democratic Integrity (CCDI) to the United Nations, Mr Olufemi Aduwo and Global Director of Agriculture at World Bank, Mr. Martien van Nieuwkoop, have jointly made an appeal to development agencies to assist Bayelsa State in food production and mechanized aquaculture.
The duo currently attending the United Nations and Climate Investment Funds conference on agriculture and sustainable development goals attainment in Geneva, Switzerland, noted that Bayelsa State has good environment for agriculture and food production, which needs to be fully utilised.
During a session on Niger-Delta Beyond Oil, on Saturday, both said the state has the potential to contribute significantly to food production in Nigeria if people are empowered with appropriate modern skills in farming along with adequate funding.
According to them, ”Bayelsa State benefits from arable land, plentiful rainfall and abundant land conducive for agricultural activities. To succeed, agricultura development plans must be less ambitious and more targeted.”
They noted that Bayelsa is richly blessed with natural resources; land, good soil, forest and good climate while enjoining the development partners to support the state’s agricultural programme as a business and sustainable investment and not as aid.
Aduwo and van Nieuwkoop, therefore, made a strong case for increased development agencies like USAID to help unlock the Bayelsa State agriculture potential, ”since agriculture is a huge wealth creating sector that is primed to unleash new economic opportunities that will lift hundreds of thousands of people out poverty.”
They equally made an appeal to Governor Duoye Diri to continue with the agricultural programme of his predecessor in skills acquisition, warning that oil would not be the energy source forever, thus there’s the need to embark on modern way of farming and put the land back for sustainable usage reward.
According to Nieuwkoop, sustainable agriculture is at the heart of the global goals attainment.
In another development, Aduwo applauded the IMF for her quick response with the donation of $50 billions to help fight coronavirus, stating that the money is available “immediately” and is for low-income and emerging market countries.
”Most of the money will be interest-free, and countries do not need to have a preexisting programme with the IMF to participate,” Aduwo said, while he appealed to the government to help some private institutes and professionals who have made discovery on the virus cure and related diseases through biomedicine have access to the fund.
