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Food security: Agricultural expert urges Akwa Ibom residents to invest in farming
04/03/2014 10:45
The Programme Manager of the Akwa Ibom State Agricultural Development Programme, AKADEP, Mr Gabriel Udoma, has urged residents of the state to invest in farming.
Udoma made the call on Tuesday while interacting with farmers at Ukana Community in the Essien Udim Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom.
He said that investing in farming would go a long a way in boosting the economy of the state.
"Agriculture is the bedrock of development and it was the sector that the country relied on before the discovery of crude oil.’’
The manager said there were now many improved varieties of cassava and other food crops in the state’s ministry of agriculture, advising farmers to take advantage of the new cassava varieties.
Udoma said that older varieties of crops cultivated by rural farmers in the past had failed to yield optimum produce, owing to the vagaries in the climate condition of the state.
He said that farmers in the state had neglected the cultivation of traditional crops such as coco yam, water yam, among others, in spite of their rich nutrient contents.
"Please as farmers, you should not neglect the high value of these crops as many of the exotic crops are not rich in nutrients as those cultural varieties," Udoma stated.
A Spokesman for the farmers, Mr Akan Okon, said that farmers would explore the opportunities provided by government for the development of agriculture.
Okon commended the transformation going on in the state, saying that it had ushered good roads, especially in rural areas.
He said rural dwellers no longer found it difficult to transport their produce to urban areas.
Source - NAN
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