Economic growth: experts want govt to give priority to agro-allied industries

Economic growth: experts want govt to give priority to agro-allied industries
NAN-HE-4
Industries
By Ajibola Olaniyi
Osogbo, Oct. 17, 2016(NAN) Dr Adefowokan Ajila, an Agric- Economist from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, has advised the government to invest more in agro-allied industries for enhanced economic growth.
Ajila gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Osogbo on Monday.
He attributed the slow pace of Nigeria’s economic growth to the mono-product nature of the economy.
Ajia said that the economic policy direction of the developing nations like Nigeria should be agriculture inclined going by the comparative advantage of the country in cash crops.
“Cash crops like cocoa, coffee, groundnut and a host of others are important industrial raw materials that will save foreign reserve and generate more earnings with huge employment potential.
‘’The comatose situation of the real-sector of our economy can be ascribed to little attention paid to the agro-allied industries in the country from where most of our cash crops would be transformed to raw materials.
‘’The agro-allied industries are key to the development of an agricultural environment like ours where the main stay of our economy before now was agriculture with good arable land.
‘’By economic theory of specialiation, nations should produce more of products where they have comparative cost advantage and by implication, agriculture remains our comparative cost advantage.
‘’We can develop our economy as a nation by investing more in the agriculture sector and creating more employment and wealth through the agro-allied industries,’’ he said.
Mrs Subomi Diekola, an expert in Agricultural Extension and Rural Sociology, also stressed the need to diversify the economy through the development of the agro-allied industries.
Diekola said the importation of some raw materials which ought to be produced in Nigeria from the plethora of agricultural produce is worrisome and inimical to the development and growth of the nation.
‘’Point-blank, there is no way we can grow as a nation if we continue to import raw materials for the production of products like cocoa tea, butter, coffee and groundnut oil when we have it in abundance here.
‘’You could imagine the number of employment the sector can generate for the country and revenue it will bring considering the size of the market for the products; it will indeed be awesome,’’ she said. (NAN)
DOO/TA
Edited by Tajudeen Atitebi