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Presiding Bishop of Living Faith Church International, David Oyedepo, has canvassed a paradigm shift in the nation’s quest to boost its employment opportunities from paid jobs to agricultural mechanisation.
Oyedepo, who stated this at the 20th International Conference and 40th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Nigerian Institution of Agricultural Engineers (NIAE) in Omu-Aran, Kwara State, said besides agriculture, no vocation or institution could accommodate the millions of unemployed Nigerians.
“This university has the vision to restore the agrarian revolution in Africa and to restore the dignity of the African man. We are endowed with fertile land but have over 400 million hungry graduates seeking job opportunities that do not exist.
“Agriculture is the cheapest way to be gainfully engaged. It can’t go into extinction because man must eat to live. There is no day that food will be irrelevant. It is, therefore, wise and safe now to tackle the impending poverty and hunger through mechanised farming.”
The event, with the theme, “Innovations and Technologies for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanisation and Livestock Transformation for Economic Growth,” drew participants from within and outside the country.
Keynote Speaker, Professor Michael Ngadi, said agricultural engineers played a key role in bringing food to man’s table.
Also speaking, National President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Adekunle Mokuolu, said, “the immediate needs of man as it relates to food and fibre production could be met through the commitment of agricultural engineers.”
Meanwhile, Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, has approved N88m as counterpart funding for the Value Chain Development Programme, an initiative of the Federal Government and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
Sule disclosed this during the handover ceremony of agricultural equipment donated by the Japanese government in Azara, Awe Council Area of the state.
