Nigerian Agriculture
The Japanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Rynichi Shoji, said the Nigerian agricultural sector is yet to be fully functional and therefore needs more effort to revive it.
He said the Federal Government’s transformation agenda for the sector will go a long way in addressing the challenges of the sector if implemented to the latter.
Speaking during a visit to the Minister of State for Agriculture, Dr. Bukar Tijani, in Abuja, the ambassador observed that agriculture is not fully functional in Nigeria, a situation that presents both risks and opportunities for the country.
He said “Agriculture is a basic industry which is supposed to contribute to nation building and economic development. It is a powerful sector that can create employment, wealth and then reduce poverty.”
On his part, the minister said Japanese government can be of immense assistance in areas of rice post harvesting and marketing.
He said the grant assistance for underprivileged farmers presented to Nigeria would be of immense help towards food sufficiency.
The scheme is a support provided for purchasing agricultural equipment such as machinery and fertilizer to help disadvantaged and small-scale farmers improve their self-sufficiency ratio of food crops.
He said the support from the Japanese government would be adequately put to use because government is committed to realizing the transformation agenda goals.
He also called for more collaboration between both governments.
