. Prof. Salako, V.C, FUNAAB
The Vice-Chancellor Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta Ogun State, Prof. Kolawole Salako has revealed that whatever food that is being produced now should be well-preserved and not be allowed to rot away.
He gave this advice while responding to questions during an interview he granted to a national newspaper on this year’s World Food Day themed “Grow, Nourish, Sustain, Together”, celebrated by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO).
On how to ensure food security for Nigeria in 2021, Prof. Salako stated that whatever food was being produced should be properly preserved, stating that agricultural processing should be given the desired attention.
He encouraged farmers and individuals involved in agriculture to be truthful and committed to using the available facilities, stating that they should be more concerned about their end products rather than selling off important equipment that could help improve agriculture. He expressed his displeasure that some local agricultural facilities that most farmers failed to appreciate were now being used for massive agricultural production by foreigners.
“We need to recognise that some of our citizens have roles to play in the development of agriculture.
With massive investment, some of our forest trees, among others, are now being turned into furniture by the Chinese while some Asians are also coming to Nigeria to get our land from us and producing the same crops that we have said cannot be produced here.
We need to be committed in using the facilities that we have”, he added.
The Vice-Chancellor disclosed that in a bid to help Nigeria get better in food production, FUNAAB had been working on its Post-Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) farms, which were cultivated last May in response to the hunger that was arising from the pandemic. He informed that despite the negative effects of the pandemic and inadequate rainfall, the University had been able to re-cultivate the land in September and also encouraged staff members to have private farms.
The Professor of Soil Physics also stressed the need for Nigeria to sustain previous agricultural policies and produce more food rather than rely on importation, stating that nation’s population kept increasing daily, which had necessitated the imperative of growing more crops, as he encouraged the citizens to be patriotic and dedicated towards nation building.
