Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has said the ‘Forbes 2013 African Man of the Year’ award he won was a recognition of what he stood for.
Speaking with reporters yesterday in Abuja, Adesina said he was not a billionaire but has a mission to make billionaires from agriculture in the country.
He said: “To have been selected for this award is quite humbling for me, knowing fully well that I am not a billionaire, but I have a vision and mission to turn others into millionaires and billionaires from agriculture.
“For me, it was not a competition, but a recognition and that recognition is bigger than myself.
“It is not just about me; it is about what I stand for and what I have tirelessly worked for all my life.’’
Adesina said it was wrong to find poor farmers in a country like Nigeria that is blessed with a lot of rainfall, great sun shine and a large population to consume what is produced.
He blamed the situation on the negative conception of some Nigerians, saying the President Goodluck Jonathan administration was changing the impression about agriculture to that of creating wealth.
Adesina said: “We are shifting the mindset to agriculture as a sector to create wealth, not as a way of managing poverty, and I think that the recognition by Forbes is for the giant strides we are taking in that direction.
“Taking agriculture out of the development realm, making agriculture a business where farmers, agro-businesses, seed companies, fertiliser companies and banks can all make money. Agriculture is not a development centre, it is a business.’’
The 2013 Forbes Africa Man of the Year urged African countries to wake up and recognise that the future was not in oil but agriculture. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com