Nigerians now leaving offices for farms, agric policy paying off – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that some citizens of Nigeria are now leaving white collar jobs for farming.

Buhari said this was improved by the Federal Government’s back-to-the-land policy, in accordance with a statement by his media aide, Femi Adesina, on Friday.

The statement, which was entitled, ‘Nigerians not regretting our back-to-the-land policy, President Buhari tells ex-Ethiopian PM’, cited the President as saying this while receiving in audience previous Prime Minister of Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, His Excellency Ato Hailemariam Dessalegn Boshe.

Buhari said the focus on agriculture by his government “is paying off handsomely”, and “Nigerians are not regretting it”.

The President was cited as saying, “We needed to go back to the land, as petroleum could no longer sustain the country, particularly with fluctuating prices. Today, we eat what we grow, and we have stopped importation of many food products. There’s no foreign exchange to even waste again.

“Agriculture has also helped us to generate employment. We have embraced technology, and some people are even leaving the offices to go back to the land. And they are not regretting it. That is the feedback we get.”

The ex-Prime Minister commended Buhari for accomplishments Nigeria has achieved under him, particularly in agriculture, and for effective management of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stating that he was in the nation on the aegis of Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa, His Excellency Boshe said that the organisation was working in 16 nations in Africa, “and if we want to change anything in the continent, it must start with Nigeria.”

He emphasised that Africa must emulate what is going on in other parts of the world regarding agriculture, and with Nigeria having accomplished significantly, being able to stop rice importation, “we want to champion the Nigerian policy at the continental level. We should have a common African voice on food self-sufficiency. Africa can feed the globe.”