Agriculture Crucial to National Growth – Gov Ahmed

By BISI ADEDAYO, Ilorin

Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed has asserted that the promotion of agriculture as a business will not only guarantees food security but also sustain income and job growth will hasten national attempt to overcome present economic recession in the country.

Governor Ahmed made the assertion on Tuesday while declaring open Harmony Agriculture International Trade Fair (HAGIF 2016) in Ilorin, the state capital.

The Governor stated that agriculture is the largest employer of labour that guarantees sustainable economic development, saying HAGIF 2016 “encapsulates the state’s desire for economic diversification and belief that our dream of a resurgent Nigerian economy lies in the planned and structured Agribusiness.”

He added: “We promise to continue to work with the network of investors, farmers, processors and other stakeholders represented here to strengthen the supporting infrastructure to ensure that quality standards are defined and maintained across the value chain.”

In his remarks, the Group Managing Director, Harmony Holdings Limited, Mr. Tope Daramola, emphasized the importance of mechahized farming in the transformation of agriculture into business.

Daramola stated that a database of prospective farmers would be created to ease the replication of commercial farming projects across the state.