Recession Threat: The Urgency of Investing LGs’ Agric Funds

Several Agric Policies, including Operation Feed the Nation, OFN have been initiated by the Federal Government since Independence with little or no effort to really tap into the sector which is the biggest employer of labour globally.

There is no gainsaying the fact that no country can experience genuine economic growth and development by playing lip service to the agricultural sector, which is the source of raw materials to manufacturing and other sectors necessary for human existence.

The immediate past Federal administration of Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan despite its many lows, made appreciable strides in the  agricultural sector and that undoubtedly explains the several awards the then Minister of Agric, Akinwumi Adesina received. Little wonder he got the backing of President Muhammadu Buhari to become the 8^th President of African Development Bank, AfDB.

Despite the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele recanting his warning of the country going into economic recession by 2016, the realities facing the Nation is Palpable economic crunch, evident in the report of losses recorded by the NNPC in the last eight months.  

But it must be noted regrettably that despite appreciable effort being made by the Federal and few of the State governments to invest in agriculture as well as Solid Minerals Sector, it may shock Nigerians to know that the percentage deducted from the monthly Federal allocations of Local Government Councils for Agric investment are basically lying fallow at the banks, with the Local Government administrations seeming inept on how to make use of the funds and turn it to wealth as well as job creation.

The Federal, State governments and other relevant international agencies geared towards the development of Agriculture should as a matter of urgency provide the needed expertise with a view to synergizing with the Local Government Councils so as to effectively utilize the funds to compliment the efforts of the Federal Government.

This has become necessary considering the fact that members of the National Youth Service Corp, NYSC who serve in the Local Government Councils are idling away in the face of available ‘unused funds’ and dwindling revenue profile of the Local Government Councils occasioned by diverted Internally Generated Revenue and drop in the price of crude oil at the International Market.

The Federal and State Governments should immediately set up machineries in place to ensure that the ‘unused’ Local Government Agric funds are immediately invested by providing the necessary consultancy/expertise.

Editor-In Chief

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