* Wants kogi poly to take the lead.
As the nation grapple with acute food shortages and imminent starvation, a University Don, has challenged polytechnics in Nigeria to take the lead in modern agricultural technology, entrepreneurship and training strategies to avert food insecurity in the country.
Professor Joseph Ita Omada gave the charge on Friday at the 4th Combined convocation ceremony of kogi polytechnic, Lokoja, .
In a lecture titled ” Providing Food Security: The Role of Nigerian Polytechnics” professor Omada, noted that food Security is when all people at all times , have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meet the dietary needs of the people.
He added that for a nation to be classified to have had food security, it would be able to feed it’s people with required and adequate level of food preferences and food products to meet ever increasing consumption demand and to mitigate fluctuations and price.
He explained that according to FAO , a nation is set to have attained food security only when the populace have access and available food stuff , stability and the quality of the diets.
Omada a former Rector of the polytechnic and a professor of Geology, and currently, a Director, Research Administration, NOUN, decried the state of food insufficiency in the country and called for all hands to be on deck to rescue the nation from the imminent food crisis starring the people in the face.
According to him, the polytechnics as foremost institutions saddle with vocational and technology education, should use their expertise to fabricate home made farm equipments and production of high breed seedlings compatible with the weather , to enable teeming youths to venture into agriculture.
He added that necessity is mother of invention, hence ,polytechnics should ensure that their school of Agriculture is equipped with relevant manpower and material resources in order to think inside and outside the box aimed at finding solutions to the food crisis.
He charged Polytechnics to evolve use of appropriate tools and human resources in the production, processing and storage of food items, decrying the low level technology in the production and distribution of agricultural products.
The guest lecturer suggested that kogi state polytechnic’s college of engineering at Itakpe should be equipped to produce agricultural implements necessary to encourage a revolution in agriculture in kogi state.
He urged Federal Government and its sub-nationals to hastily attend to security crisis across the country so that farmers will put in their best to produce enough food without fear of being attacked.
While soliciting for the government to support farmers with quality seedling and innovative tools, called for activation of irrigation farming, good roads, water supply to villages , electricity and lowering cost of transportation an antidote to food availability at all seasons.
