Lagos State Government Seeks More Investments In Agriculture To Curb Huge Unemployment Rate

BY LOVETH AZODO, Lagos

Following the huge unemployment rate that has impoverishing Nigerians, the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat has called for more investments in agriculture and technology opining that they are the most successful methods of curtailing unemployment in the country.

Hamzat made the call at the Lagos State University’s Annual Faculty Lecture, titled “Addressing  The Unemployment Scourge In Nigeria: The Role Of Agriculture And Technology”  held recently at the university’s auditorium.

He noted that Nigeria is the most populous country in the continent; the 7^th in the world, the 6^th largest producer of crude oil in the world and the highest in Africa, yet the country’s employment rate attributed to declaring it as ‘the global capitals of extreme poverty’.

“Over the last ten years, unemployment in Nigeria rose from 5percent in 2010 to 22.5percent in 2018; we must admit that this high unemployment rate is unacceptable in Africa especially in Nigeria, a country filled with an impressive group of youth, talent and creativity”

Speaking on solutions to the menace, Hamzat said “I am first to admit that there are no quick fixes, we must prepare to sow seeds today that may not necessarily grow until our children’s generation.

However, he stated that agriculture cannot stand alone in ending unemployment; technology must be seen as an ally for ensuring that interventions are sustainable and far reaching.

“We as a country need to invest more in agricultural research and development, these have shown to have very high rates of return, and thus can play an important role in providing a solution for unemployment,” he stated.

He stated that Nigerian farmers need large commercial input enterprises adding that high transaction costs, risks, and the major economies of scale involved in producing, importing and transporting inputs such as fertilizer are impediment to expansion.