President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, CBCN, Most Rev. Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, has raised the alarm that the nation’s quest for food security may remain a mirage, if the current level of insecurity in the land was not checked.
Archbishop Ugorji stated this weekend, while flagging off a one week training and empowerment workshop on agriculture, at Aboh Mbaise, codenamed, “it’s farm o’clock for Mbaise people”.
His words: “There is no doubt that there is hunger in the land. It is equally true that the current level of insecurity in Nigeria, is preventing farmers from going to their farms.
“This scenario has resulted to decreased food production and hunger in the land has kept rising. We are told that a hungry man is an angry man. Therefore, if we have an intimidating army of angry people, then, we must consciously or unconsciously sitting on a keg of gunpowder.
“Government should please, tackle insecurity in Nigeria, if our collective quest to feed our people will be realized in our lifetime. It does not require rocket science to do this.”
He commended Rev. Fr. Pius Ibeawuchi and the member of Aboh Mbaise state constituency, Mr. Princewill Ugochukwu Amuchie, for stepping out to show the way forward in food production, pointing out that time has passed when citizens concentrated on subsistent agriculture.
While calling for commercial production of food, so as to bring down the high cost of food in the market, Archbishop Ugorji said: “I will go back to replicate what I have learned from here. Where the Bishop resides, should have a little backyard farm. We all should go back to farming, because it is a profitable and life-saving venture.
“We now know that if properly nursed, the fruits coming from a tree of bitter kola, can fetch the owner about N2 million. I am impressed with the large number of people participating in this workshop.
“The timing of planting each of the seedlings, is equally important. Planting at the wrong time brings low harvest, while planting at the right time guarantees bountiful harvest.”
Speaking also, to co-sponsor of the workshop, Princewill Ugochukwu Amuchie, said that agriculture should be given a priority status, to avert what he called “catastrophic consequences, as a result of unprecedented high cost of food items in the market”.
He expressed worry over “the obvious lack of interest in agriculture and farming by a cross section of Imo citizens”, adding that he was “driven by his passion and desire to turn the industrious and enterprising nature of Aboh Mbaise local council area, into a humongous and profitable agri-business venture, with its attendant multiplier effect on socio-economic development and sustainability of the area”.
Amuchie also said: “I assure you that every family in Aboh Mbaise will benefit from this initiative, when the benefits will start trickling down during harvest season.
“This is the first phase, and it will be a continuous exercise, until we become food sufficient, which ultimately brings down the prices of food in the market.”
In his own speech, the proprietor of the farm, Rev. Fr. Pius Ibeawuchi, expressed satisfaction that over 250 people, who participated in the exercise, learned a lot and are ready to demonstrate it in the 2024 farming season.