Diversification: Onofiok Luke moves to reposition agric - Meet AFAN on the way forward

BY JOSEPH OKON

Worried by the dwindling oil revenue in the country occasioned by oil theft, the member representing Nsit Ubium state constituency and chairman House committee on Agriculture, Barr Onofiok Luke has moved to reposition the agricultural sub sector in the state to generate more revenue for the state, create employment, and reduce over dependent on oil.

This was the position of the lawmaker when he met with the executive and members of All Farmers Association of Nigeria AFAN in Akwa Ibom state which is the apex body that coordinate and regulate the activities of farmers in the state, the meeting which took place last week at the state house of assembly complex afforded the participants opportunity to table their problems before the house committee on how agriculture in the state can be moved from subsistence to commercial level.

Addressing the AFAN, Barr Luke lamented the abandonment of agriculture in the state, adding that Akwa Ibom needs to start diversification now to reduce over dependent on oil.

He said that last month the state could not meet it revenue target because of oil theft, and the only thing that can help the state meet the target is agriculture. The committee chairman maintained that apart from putting food on the table, the vision of the committee is to make agriculture a major revenue earning for the state and boost industrialization that will generate employment for the teeming youths in the state.

He maintained that the house want to solve the problem of storage and evacuation of agricultural produce in the state and also see how it can improve on value addition for agricultural facilities, move farming business from the traditional system that is practicing now to a mechanized system.
On his part, the state chairman of AFAN, Engr Denis Etong thanked the committee chairman for his wisdom and foresight in coming to the aid of farmers in the state, and intimated the committee that farming has moved from food sufficiency to food security.

He said that the major problem of farmers in Akwa Ibom was lack of organization which is why farmers still operates at subsistence level, but his administration has been able to put farmers into groups and organizations. He lamented that government has abandoned farmers in the state starting from incentives, lack of administrative accommodation,non-support to farming activities, and fertilizer problem.

Engr Etong called on the house of assembly to make laws that will give farmers security and protect them in times of natural disasters and emergencies like the 2012 flooding which affected the farmers mostly, and most farmers in the state have not still recover from the incident. He said that the house should look at the possible way of giving loans to farmers with less condition so that they can payback.

Also speaking, Dr Dominic Udoh who is a former commissioner for Agriculture in the state said that there should be a college of agriculture in the state to produce graduates that will love farming, adding that graduates from the agricultural department in universities do not like farming. He maintained that anybody that is in college of agriculture knows what he or she is doing, and called on the house to be more vigorous in pursuing agricultural development in the state.

Dr Ituen of university of Uyo decries lack of access roads that could enable businessmen get to where farm produce are processed, and that Nkari Basin area can produce rice that feed the entire state.

The meeting which was interactive afforded all participants the opportunity to speak on the way forward in the agricultural sector, a committee to compile all views and opinions of participants to be presented to the committee as a working document was recommended.