Kogi State Commissioner for Agriculture, Hon David Apeh has warned that the continuous dependence on crude oil by the Nigeria government may spell doom for the nation’s economy.
Apeh gave the warning on Monday at a one day stakeholders’ meeting to promote environmental protection through replacement of worn out oil palm in low carbon areas organized by Solidaridad West Africa in collaboration with Youth and Women Health Empowerment Project (YAWHEP), Development and Female Gender Initiative (DEGENDER) and Participation Initiative For Behavioral Change in Development (PIBCID).
Apeh, while stressing that the nation is richly blessed with abundant resources to feed itself and the rest of the world outside crude oil, lamented that Nigeria is drifting toward a direction which showed that only agriculture will save the nations economy from total collapse.
He recalled that in the early 50s to late 70s, the Nigeria economy was at its peak through agriculture, stressing that the oil which the government is depending upon now will soon come to a total halt.
He described the workshop as very timely adding that both the federal and state governments are working tirelessly to promote agricultural production in the country.
He stressed further the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has put in place fund to encourage farmers in agriculture in a bid to meet the demands of foods production and consumption in the country.
The commissioner charged participants to listen and ensure that they contribute meaningfully towards the development of the nation’s economy through agriculture.
In his paper presentation titled, ‘Effect of Deforestation and Non Replacement of Oil Palm Trees on Low Carbon Areas’, Friday Ogezi, Senior Program Officer, ActionAid Nigeria stressed the need to build a sustainable ecosystem through best management practices to improve conservation and environmental protection.
Ogezi noted that environmentalists argue that farming of oil palm tree is extremely bad for the planet.
Palm oil production is said to have been responsible for the about 8% of the world deforestation between 1990-2008. This is because of the impact when they are worn out.
“As such, replacement of this trees becomes important to ensure environmental protection, even though technical and challenging for large scale replacement. The need for alternate crops and farming systems that help conserve and promotes afforestation becomes necessary,” he said.
Earlier, the Managing Partner, Intellect Associates A&J Ltd, Odiba James in his welcome address said effect of climate change in the world calls for concerns as there is scarcity of food stuff in the country and high cost of living due to drop in production.
He noted that there is need for stakeholders to leverage on oil palm production to bring the desired changes in country.
