×
  • Business - Economy
  • Updated: September 11, 2020

President Buhari Says Farming Is Answer To Unemployment

President Buhari Says Farming Is Answer To Unemployment

President Muhammadu Buhari said the solution to unemployment in Nigeria is farming. The administration is struggling to provide job opportunities for its unemployed graduates and the increasing youth population in the labour force.

Unemployment in Nigeria rose to 27.1 percent in the second quarter of this year, from 23.1 percent recorded in the third quarter of 2018. According to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the youth population grew the highest in the unemployment market when compared to other age groups.

The report titled, '‘Labor Force Statistics: Unemployment and Underemployment Report’ states that the rate of unemployment among young people between the ages of 15-34 years of age in the Q2 of 2020 was pegged at 34.9 percent, up from 29.7 percent.

[READ ALSO: Police Investigate Four PWC Workers Over Senior Partner's Death]

NBS stated that “For the period under review, Q2 2020, the unemployment rate among young people (15-34 years) was 34.9 percent, up from 29.7 percent, while the rate of underemployment for the same age group rose to 28.2 percent from 25.7 percent in Q3 2018.

“These rates were the highest when compared to other age groupings.“The number of persons in the labour force (i.e. people within ages 15 -64, who are able and willing to work) was estimated to be 80,291,894. This was 11.3 percent less than the number of persons in Q3 2018. Of this number, those within the age bracket of 25-34 were highest, with 23,328,460 or 29.1 percent of the labour force."

Buhari's Solution To Unemployment Is Farming

The youths were advised by President Buhari to take up farming to avoid remaining in the unemployment bracket. He said Agriculture is the solution to the millions of "young able-body" Nigerians who are in need of a job.

Buhari's administration has been focusing on agriculture since he came into power in 2015. The President has tailored his policies towards agriculture over the years, with Buhari stating that one of his greatest achievements is the rate of people quitting their white-collar jobs to start farming.

[READ ALSO: Nigeria Want Creditors To Cancel Debt As It Rises To N31trn]

"There are people leaving white-collar jobs and going back to the land. This is one of the greatest successes of this administration." President Buhari said during an interview with Arise TV in January 2019. His administration prioritise agriculture above other sectors as it tries to diversify from oil revenue.

To support farmers in Nigeria, Buhari had directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to place over 41 food items on forex ban. And in a recent directive, the President stated that anybody importing food or fertilisers shouldn't be given forex for importation.

"I am restating it that nobody importing food or fertilizer should be given foreign exchange from the Central Bank. We will not pay a kobo of our foreign reserves to import food or fertilizer."

Buhari stated that, "We will instead empower local farmers and producers." adding that, "We have a lot of able-bodied young people willing to work, and agriculture is the answer."

Related Topics

Join our Telegram platform to get news update Join Now

0 Comment(s)

See this post in...

Notice

We have selected third parties to use cookies for technical purposes as specified in the Cookie Policy. Use the “Accept All” button to consent or “Customize” button to set your cookie tracking settings