If the definition of greatness is to get others thinking along fresh progressive lines with a persistent vigor, then the present Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwunmni Adesina can be said to be a great man. It goes without saying that his farsightedness and wisdom in stewardship of the agriculture sector has led to a change in perception by many who now view Agriculture.
Agriculture due to his dedicated input and initiatives buoyed by the support of the Presidency, is now seen as a business, to many young people farming has become cool. Agriculture is now synonymous to a tool for economic empowerment.
The one of a kind Agricultural Festival set to hold on the 23rd of January 2013 at the Eagle Square will feature live testimonials and presentations from beneficiaries of the ATA, alongside other celebratory activities as well as a scorecard and projection for the future of Nigerian agriculture and relatively our economy, as agriculture is been revamped to become the new oil.
How Dr. Adesina was able to turn around the agriculture sector in less than four years should be a subject for academic study. Yet, we cannot fail to give honour to the one who breathed life to this phenomenon. Like him or hate him, we cannot but acknowledge that President Goodluck Jonathan found the right man for the job. He found the right man to implement his vision of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda which we see today.
As we approach the twilight of the first coming of President Goodluck Jonathan, it is necessary to access how much impact the ATA has made and what needs to be done to further enhance and consolidate the impact of the ongoing transformation. It is against this backdrop that we announce a series of events that will culminate into the First Agricultural Festival in Nigeria this turn of the century.
Join @akin_adesina on January 22, 2015 by 4pm Nigerian time in the Ministerial Twittterview as he presents via the Twitter platform his agriculture scorecard. This event will also present a unique opportunity for stakeholders online to interact with the Minister using the hashtag #Talk2TripleA as the he takes on salient issues and responds to inquiries via tweets. The interactive session will also be streamed live to the internet on the www.AgroNigeria.com.ng for non-twitter users to participate.
The much talked about ATA Impact would come in full glare of the global public come Friday January 23rd 2015, Nigeria will stand up to celebrate agriculture as farmers and stakeholders in the agriculture sector gather at the Eagle Square, Abuja. This epoch making event will have as special guest His Excellency, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Indeed, now is the opportuned time to get involved in agriculture. With the dwindling fortunes from the oil and gas sector, agriculture remains the surest avenue to explore in order to grow Nigeria's economy.
As usual AgroNigeria will be on ground to bring you all the news and behind the scenes from #AgriFest2015.
The celebration is not limited to the agricultural stakeholders alone, as with the ongoing #postadish contest, which aims at celebrating Nigerian cuisine – from Farm-to-Plate will see contestants win over ₦100,000 naira in cash prize. Visit www.agronigeria.com.ng/agrifest for details.
