Former president Olusegun Obasanjo, has requested for the support of the Thai government to Nigeria’s quest to improve on her agricultural sector.
Obasanjo hinted that as part of moves to make food available for Nigerians, the present administration was also planning to introduce 2000 tractors to boost mechanized farming across the country.
Obasanjo made this request at the Thailand Tractors and Agric-Machinery Show (THAITAM 2017), organized by the Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP) of the Ministry of Commerce, which began at Kasetsart University, Thailand, on Thursday.
The former president also urged other countries to partner on the initiative of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in order to ensure increased local production of food crops in the country.
In his remarks presented by an aide, Chief Abraham Idowu Akanle, Obasanjo stated that, “Nigeria’s agricultural sector requires international support in its programmes and initiatives such as the cattle breeding improvement, climate change, standardization and certification of food products, seed development and improvement, capacity building, among others.
“As I am made to understand, President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in Nigeria is working vigorously to commercialise and mechanise Nigeria’s agriculture by introducing about 2,000 units of tractors and various kinds of harvesting and processing equipment to mechanise our farming, while also building Nigerian local content and capacity to sustain and advance mechanisation to suit best practices worldwide.
“I expect that Thailand and other countries alike will tap into this initiative and partner with the Nigerian government towards lifting the agricultural sector and ensuring increased local production of food crops.
“Nigeria’s population which would grow up to 200 million people by the year 2020 could also be an advantage for international partners to tap in,” he said.
