The Nigerian government has been advised to
increase its investment in the agricultural sector so as to make it a steady
and alternative means of revenue generation for the country.
Bill Gates gave this advice at the special
session of the National Economic Council meeting focused on human capital
development held Thursday at the Banquet hall, Presidential villa, Abuja.
Present at the meeting were the Vice President,
Yemi Osinbajo, who is the chairman of NEC, some governors, ministers, CBN
governor, Aliko Dangote, Bill Gates and other development partners.
Mr. Gates in his speech said the government
should shift attention from oil and improve the agricultural sector to becoming
the pillar of Nigerian’s economy.
According to him, only four per cent of
Nigerian farmers currently have loans to grow their business and this is
unacceptable especially in a country where the sector accounted for a large
proportion of the country’s GDP, and during the oil price collapse and
recession, helped cushion the economy.
He however lamented that the sector is not
growing as it ought to and many small scale farmers still lack access to loans
that can assist with the expansion of their businesses.
Mr. Gates said the sector still has a lot of
potential to grow but pointed out that what is hindering the growth is that
majority of Nigerian smallholder farmers lack access to the seeds, fertilizer
and training they need to be more productive.
“… Healthy people need opportunities to thrive
and one of the most important of these opportunities is agriculture, the sector
that nourishes Nigerians and supports half the population especially the
poorest,” he said.
Mr. Gates said lack of access to finance is one
of the barriers that continues to prevent smallholders from thriving.
“Where three quarters of people have mobile
phones, digital financial services can offer the potential to boost the economy
from top to bottom. Right now more than 50 million Nigerian adults are at the
whim of chance and the informal economy. With access to digital financial
tools, they can cope better with disaster that threatens to wipe them out,
build assets and a credit history and gradually lift themselves out of
poverty,” he said.
Mr. Gates urged the government to consider the
impact this would have on businesses.
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