By Omotayo Edubi
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Agribusiness Nigeria Plc, Mr Oluwole Azeez, has called for more investment in snail farming to boost production towards ensuring food security.
Azeez, made the call on Wednesday when a team led by the Commandant, Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, AVM Ebenezer Alade, visited the firm in Ibadan.
He maintained that snail farming is a $16 billion US dollar per annum business that Nigeria could invest in towards achieving food security.
The FarmKonnect boss said that snail farming through its numerous value chains from the production to the marketing could make people, especially youth self-employed and employers of labour.
According to him, the firm in its efforts to improve job creation and contribute to food security established a snail village in Ekiti.
“Without food security we cannot have a national security; national security is the requirement to maintain the survival of any nation.
“National security comprises health, political, environmental, social, food security, among others,” he said.
He stressed the need for farmers to be equipped with information technology to enable them to improve their yield and productivity.
“We don’t need more farmers but more smarter farmers, farmers should learn to collaborate rather than competing.
“Our vision is to make profiting from agriculture easier and more consistent for all and sundry, without limitation by boundaries, time, space, skill, social or financial status.
“FarmKonnect will continue to do its best to achieve this goal,” he said.
Azeez, therefore, called on all stakeholders to join hands to transform the destiny of Nigeria, especially through agriculture and agribusiness.
Also speaking, AVM Alade, commended FarmKonnect for what they are doing in the agricultural sector.
“They are doing a great job because anybody that produces food is providing a form of security to the country.
“This is because a hungry man is an angry man, when people are angry they can do lots of negative things.
“So, whoever that is ensuring food availability as FarmKonnect is doing, is helping to move Nigeria forward,” he said.