An agricultural economics expert and former APC senatorial aspirant in Abia State, Prof. Philips Nto, has advocated an increase in budgetary allocation to agriculture by states and local governments to enhance food production.
He said that, with increased allocations from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), states and local governments should allocate a minimum of 30% of their budgets to agriculture.
Nto, a former Commissioner for Finance and Economic Planning in Abia State, spoke to journalists ahead of World Food Day, whose theme is “Innovate Today, Nourish Tomorrow.”
He said that, apart from increased budgetary allocations to agriculture, the government should promote local production through various incentives, such as the distribution of improved seeds, fertiliser, new technologies, and the training and retraining of farmers.
According to him, the government should also ensure adequate security for farmers and rural communities against banditry and kidnapping to increase food production.
Prof. Nto, who is also a former Provost of Abia State College of Education (Technical), Arochukwu, further urged governors to ensure that they deploy CNG and electric buses to rural areas for the evacuation of farm produce to cut down the prices of foodstuffs, which are rising daily.
“I sincerely believe that if these measures are put in place by the states and local governments, there will be an increase in food production, which, in turn, will bring about a reduction in food prices,” Prof. Nto declared.
The public affairs analyst and former World Bank consultant further suggested that agricultural development banks should grant concessionary loans to real farmers to help them improve yields.
He said such improvement could come by way of promoting rural infrastructure or enhancing local processing and value addition.
Prof. Nto enjoined researchers in Nigerian universities and institutes to make their research available to rural farmers through training and retraining.
He noted that the time had come for Nigeria to embrace new technologies in food production instead of relying on crude traditional farming methods.
