Dr. Francis Toromade, the Director General, Premier Agribusiness and an expert in the Soy Value Chain, has emphasized the critical role of agriculture in ensuring survival and economic stability.
As the keynote speaker for the Young Tech Farmers Club set to be launched by SAHE Foundation, Dr. Toromade highlighted the dangers of Nigeria’s heavy reliance on oil.
According to him, “there is no doubt that no nation survives without agriculture.”
Dr. Toromade argued that the country’s current economic hardships are largely due to overdependence on oil rather than focusing on agriculture.
“If you look back to the 70s or 80s when a dollar was just one naira, it wasn’t the oil that made us achieve this but agriculture. But now, we have focused so much on oil,” he said.
He commended the SAHE Foundation’s new program aimed at educating young people about the importance of agriculture, adding that instilling agricultural values in the youth is crucial for the country’s future.
“Catching people at a young age to inculcate agricultural values in them is the best thing that can happen to Nigeria,” he said.
He also referenced Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, emphasizing that food is fundamental to human survival.
“Food is paramount among these needs. It is only when you are well-fed that you can think of wearing clothes and looking for shelter. One cannot survive without food,” he said.
Expressing his gratitude to the organizers, Dr. Toromade then called for nationwide support for agricultural initiatives.
“As an agribusiness expert with 37 years in the sector, I can affirm that we don’t have any options in Nigeria except to go back to agriculture.
“This SAHE initiative is a very good start, given the fact that the use of technology in agriculture would also be introduced to these children who are to learn the viable benefits of agriculture in a society,” he concluded.
