The President of Onitsha Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ONICCIMA), Mr Uchenna Apakama, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to increase the budgetary allocation for agriculture.
Apakama, who made the call in an interview on Monday in Onitsha, said the amount allocated to agriculture is meagre if the nation wants to realize its dream of diversifying the economy.
“Mr President should liaise with the National Assembly to increase the allocation given to agriculture if the Federal Government is sincere in its promise to develop the agricultural sector.
“Our economy should be hinged on agriculture since the oil price is going down.
“The current budgetary allocation to agriculture does not give us the confidence that the Federal Government wants to save the sector.
“Government needs to increase the budget to encourage farmers, agriculture extension, embark on advocacy and educate farmers on improved inputs and technology,” Apakama said.
He stressed the need for the Federal Government to collaborate with the Organised Private Sectors (OPS) in the areas of concessions, tax holidays and other incentives that could make the agriculture sector more lucrative.
Apakama called on the Bank of Industry (BOI) and NEXIM Bank to review the framework for accessing loans in their banks, as cooperative societies still found it difficult to access credit facilities.
He said that banks need to ease their framework for giving out loans to build industries and exploit raw materials to the point where the agricultural products can be utilised and exported.
The chamber president lauded the private sector’s investment in the rice value chain, noting that Nigerian can now boast of rice with good quality as those imported from Thailand, China and Pakistan.
The Federal Government allocated N47 billion to the agriculture sector in the 2016 budget.
