According to President Muhammadu Buhari, over 13 million direct and indirect jobs have been created in Nigeria over the past 75 months as a result of the agricultural revolution.
The United States Institute of Peace (USIP), the International Republican Institute, the National Endowment for Democracy, and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems together organized an interactive session where the president announced this.
In a statement on Saturday, Garba Shehu, the president’s spokesperson, cited Buhari as saying that the country went from being a net importer of rice to a producer of its own rice as a result of focused interventions in the agricultural sector, driven by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
‘‘This same scheme has financed the establishment and operations of our fifty (50) integrated rice mills,” he said.
‘It has also financed over 4.5 million smallholder farmers, ensured the cultivation of almost 6 million hectares of farmland and almost 700 large-scale agricultural projects have been funded.
‘‘This Agricultural revolution has led to the creation of over 13m direct and indirect jobs.”
Buhari added that Nigeria was better able to absorb the systemic shock brought on by both COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war on the world food supply because of the concentration on the agriculture sector.
He said that the sector’s revolution had increased the nation’s ability and effectiveness in boosting production and minimizing post-harvest losses.
‘‘The non-oil sector remains the future of our economy and I hope successive governments will consolidate on the gains we have recorded under my leadership,” he said.
‘‘You will agree with me that the Russia-Ukraine war has compelled many economies to carry out reforms and re-adjust policies to cope with the challenges posed by the conflict.
‘‘In this regard, we are paying more attention now to energy transmission and distribution through targeted collaboration with global companies like Siemens to improve our efficiency in the Power Value Chain.”
Buhari also cautioned western nations against rushing to stop using fossil fuels in favor of a better climate.
