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Rockefeller Foundation commends Nigeria on agriculture reforms
Rockefeller Foundation, a United States of America (U.S.) based philanthropic organization and private foundation, has commended the ongoing economic reforms of the Federal Government Nigeria’s. According to the foundation’s President, Dr. Judith Rodin, all the works in agriculture are capable of moving Nigeria from a net importer of so many foods to a net exporter, if sustained.
Rodin, a former president of the University of Pennsylvania and also the first woman to head the foundation said of the group visit, “we have been visiting today and we have seen the enormous progress Nigeria has made particularly we have been very enthusiastic and have spent most of our day to day with these two Hounouable Ministers of Finance and Agriculture because we have a fervent believe in the productivity that we have seen and the transformation in the Agriculture sector into a real growth sector for the economy of Nigeria.
“We have seen so many exiting innovations here and the mobilization of the use of cassava and the new processing. We have taken the cassava bread and the cake which are very delicious and the production of rice for export and the enormous effort, the exiting progress that we have seen in moving Nigeria from a net importer of so many foods to a net exporter.
“That will be transformational for this country and it will really be the bed rock for continuing to mobilize the growth of the economy as well as producing hunger reduction. So it is a triple win for this country and we are enthusiastic about what we are seeing in this country.”
Mr. Strive Masiyiwa, Former Chairman, Econet Wireless also on his part endorsed the administration policies. He noted that “these are the policies we are seeing in Agriculture and economic management that based on the experience elsewhere, that reflect the fact that you are going to millions of people coming out of poverty particularly rural people.
“We just really want to encourage President Jonathan in this work and the Economic Team that they are on the right path. When you are dealing with agriculture, things do not happen overnight, but even for the pace of agriculture, this is grabbing attention globally. What we really came to say is that not only should Nigeria push hard because at the end of the day, you have millions of people in Nigeria and the rest of Africa are at work in agriculture particularly women and the young people.
“We want them to come to agriculture not as subsistence farmers but to begin to see it as business and begin to take the continent out of poverty.
“ We are urging Nigerians to not only push ahead but to also provide leadership to the rest of Africa in the kind of things that need to be done to resolve agriculture productivity and food deposit in Africa.
