Chamber wants FG to sustain drive to diversify economy
The President, Asaba Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and agriculture, Mr. Emmanuel Moweta, has called on the Federal Government to sustain its drive to diversify the economy and give agriculture its pride of place to ensure food security.
Moweta told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Asaba on yesterday that sustaining the diversification programme would go a long way in boosting the economy of the nations.
According to him, if agriculture is given the pride of place as a result of the diversification programme, the nation will not only feed itself, it will also boost the export of agricultural produce to other countries.
He said that the projection of the United Nations stated that by 2050, the population of the world would grow by about 50 percent and that it was necessary for nations, especially Nigeria, to start working toward ensuring food security in the country.
“I think with this projection, the diversification of the economy to agriculture is in the right direction,’’ he said.
He appealed to government at all levels to ensure that adequate measures were put in place to sustain the drive for the diversification of the economy and ensure food security in the country.
Moweta advised the government to come up with laudable programmes and policies and ensure that such programmes and policies were implemented.
“The government has always been known for making laudable policies and programmes, but the implementation and sustainability have always been a major challenge.
“We had the green revolution, operation feed the nation and much more, but how many of them can we say that are still in existence today?
“My prayer is that the government sustains its drive on diversification of the economy to agriculture because people are beginning to see the importance of agriculture.
“Nigerians are also beginning to see that those who take to agriculture are now smiling to the banks unlike before when agriculture was being looked upon as business for the peasants.’’
