» 'Nigerians May Starve To Death By 2050' — Minister Of Agriculture, Ogbeh «

VangaurdNgr: THE Presidency, yesterday, raised alarm that
Nigerians would starve to death by 2050 if nothing was
done to ensure an all year round farming.
It also said with the rate the country was going, the
population would by 2050 rise to 509 million.
According to the Federal Government, the present mode of
farming will not sustain the increasing population in the
country.
It noted that there was the urgent need for all major
stakeholders to work towards improving mechanized
farming and irrigation, to ensure an all year farming to
avert the problem.
Speaking, yesterday, during the budget defence of 2016,
Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, said the country
had the capacity to grow the grass required by the cattle
to consume.
He said: “We have written to state governments to
encourage them to develop dams and canals so that
agriculture becomes an all year round activity and it is not
confined to the rainy season alone.
“Besides, by 2050, Nigeria population will be very close to
500 million at the current rate of growth. This is just
34years from now. If we carry on at the current rate of one
crop per year, with very low mechanization, Nigerians run
the risk of starving to death.
He said: “We intend to intensity and consolidate on the
local staples, the yams, the cassava, the beans, especially
rice and wheat. Both of which consume $11 million per day
in import. The figure is going down a bit. We can’t afford
that in the long run because we don’t even have the
resources.
“The ministry has put necessary machinery in motion to
stop the constant bloody clashes between herdsmen and
farmers. We have decided we are going to develop
massive paddocks across the country.
“What the cows are looking for is grass and water. We have
the capacity to grow the grass we want not just any kind
of grass but highly nutritive grass for the cows to eat. If it
can be done in Kenya, Saudi Arabia, there is no reason why
we can’t do it here.
‘’There is sizable provision for grassing at hinterland, by
developing water, drilling of boreholes and small dams
toirrigate those areas already mapped out. In the process
we hope that the cattle herdsmen would have a more
stable life.”