Agriculture Will Help Nigeria Tackle Unemployment, Says Wike

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, speaking during a courtesy visit by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh and Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, at the Government House Port Harcourt yesterday has stated that investments in agriculture will help the nation tackle youth unemployment.

He said: “If Nigeria must move to the next level, agriculture is key. To reduce unemployment, we must focus on agriculture.”

“We are developing the cassava factory to improve the commercial farming of the product. We are also working with a private company to revive our rubber factory.”
He said his administration was working with the Rivers State University to revive the College of Agriculture at Onne for the training of agricultural professionals.

Wike said the state government would collaborate with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to improve key aspects of the state agricultural sector.

In his remarks, Minister of Agriculture, Ogbeh, said unless the youth are reintroduced to agriculture, the country will always have security challenges as most urban youths are idle.