October 25, (THEWILL) – Amid hunger and increase in prices of food commodities in the country, Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has taken a swipe at African governments for their lack of continuity in agricultural policies to sustain food production, which have been major hindrances to achieving food security and other agricultural businesses to thrive in the continent.
He disclosed this in a statement by his Media Aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, on Thursday, at the launching of Okun Rice Mills at Asero, Abeokuta, Ogun State capital.
The ex-president insisted that if the culture of policy continuity on agriculture for food development and food production were sustained, the hunger crisis in Africa, particularly Nigeria, would have been a thing of the past and every citizenry of the continent would have food sufficiency for storage and to feed on.
He urged governments in Africa to provide an enabling environment for agricultural production and other business enterprises to thrive, to achieve food security in the state, national and continental levels to rid the continent of hunger and food crisis.
Obasanjo said, “Part of our problem in Nigeria and Africa as a whole is lack of continuity and this is very bad for every development at family level, state level, national level and continental.
“What I found so ridiculous is that because there has been no continuity in so many things we are doing, you will hear people saying ‘for the first time ever’ as if Nigeria is just beginning today whereas, the problem is lack of continuity.
“When you go back, you will find out that some people have done that which they are talking about in the past and if we had continued our situation wouldn’t have been as bad as it is particularly in the area of food production.
“I have always said that the government has no business in production, the primary duty of the government is to provide the enabling environment for agricultural production and other business enterprises to thrive so as to achieve food security.
“So, I am saying that for us to achieve increased food production and achieve food sufficiency at the state, national at continental level, the government must be ready to provide an enabling environment and ensure continuity of assisted agricultural policies to enhance food production”, he added.
The former president lauded the Chief Executive Officer of Hyst Global Business Limited, Dr Biodun Onalaja, for his courage and perseverance in bracing all odds to invest in local rice production to boost food sufficiency in the country.
He noted that the entrepreneur has done so well urging him to also prioritise supporting the local rice farmers and get the paddy rice to mill from them.
The CEO Of Okun Rice Mill, Onalaja, lauded Obasanjo’s visionary leadership, particularly in the area of boosting food production in the country, saying that his guidance and support over the years has been a major source of encouragement.
He hinted that the Okun Rice mill has the capacity to produce 100 metric tonnes of high-quality rice daily in various packing options from 1kg to 50kg.
The CEO stated that the enterprise is aimed at creating employment opportunities and achieving sustainable food production in the country.
He said that the Okun Rice will be available for purchase from mid-November urging the rice farmers to bring their paddy rice for processing.
Onalaja thanked Gov Dapo Abiodun and other government functionaries for their support and cooperation in ensuring the success of the partnership with the state government.
Earlier in his remarks at the occasion, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Bolu Owotomo, said that the Okun Rice venture is another success story of the Public Private Partnership of the present administration in the state.
