BY ANKELI EMMANUEL, Sokoto –
The North West Regional Manager of Dangote Fertilizer Ltd, Mr Wilson Kolawole has expressed concern over looming food crisis in Nigeria if agriculture is not given the desired attention.
Mr. Wilson, who stated this on Thursday in Kano at a workshop organized for 50 journalists to build their capacities on ethics, skills and personal qualities for reporting in the digital age, said out of the 70. 8 million available arable land in Nigeria, only 43 million of the land is being cultivated.
He urged Nigerians to step up efforts towards towards embracing agriculture to avoid the looming food crisis.
Mr. Wilson said, “The food we have today may not sustain Nigeria for the next 10 years”.
” Dangote’s conglomerate quest to help solve the food need of the masses, and make Nigeria self reliance in food production, the group went into fertilizer manufacturing as a sure way of boosting agricultural yield.
Giving the motives behind setting up the Dangote fertilizer industry, Mr Wilson said, it was geared towards making the product readily available and affordable to the Nigerian farmers.
“Our vision is to make Nigeria self-reliant in food production by improving crop productivity for the farmers. We also have the mission to provide distinctive, high quality fertilizer products and services with sustained commitment to customer satisfaction, whilst delivering superior return to our stakeholders”. Wilson enthused.
Submitting that that Dangote fertilizer is of international standards that is being exported to Europe and America, the company’s Regional Manager, Wilson said, they are also committed to empowering farmers at all times hence setting up the Dangote Agricultural Services (DAS).
“”In terms of employment, agriculture is by far the most important sector of the economy, engaging about 70 percent of the labour force and this sector has the highest potential to diversify food supply and expand foreign exchange earnings”.
Talking on the Dangote Agricultural Services (DAS) activities in the north western states of Nigeria for the year 2023, Wilson listed some of its achievements to include, training of 4,484 farmers in 128 local govt areas, testing of 110 soil samples to determine what crop could yeild optimally in them in addition to organizing 37 fairs and workshops to enlighten farmers in the region.
Mr Wilson who said the north west region of Nigeria has 26,606,500 hectares of lands available for farming, added however that only 13.4 million of the land is being utilized for agricultural purpose.
“The Dangote Group now have a mobile soil testing van that goes out to test lands and tell farmers what to farm in their lands for optimal yield”.
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