By Our Reporter
The National President of Federation of Agricultural Commodity Association of Nigeria (FACAN), Dr Victor Iyama, said Nigeria can make a lot of dollars from large scale hemp farming.
Iyama made this known while speaking at the just concluded stakeholders meeting of North East Commodity Association (NECAS) in Yola.
Iyama observed that apart from hemp, there were many other crops with similar potentials, adding that the nation has the potentials to generate over 250 Billion Dollars annually from agriculture.
“Agriculture alone can bring over 250 billion Dollars! It’s practical, I have made an analysis about it and submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture.
“For example, ordinary hemp, the so called Indian Hemp that NDLEA goes about destroying has oil that sells for 15,000 dollars per litre. How much is the litre of petrol?
“We are not saying that people should take hemp, we are saying that there is money to be made in hemp. For crying out loud, we can’t be looking for dollars and be burning it.”
Iyama said that hemp farming should be regulated by involving the personnel of NDLEA to ensure that there was no abuse by companies or groups involved in farming the produce for the oil.
He explained that NDLEA officials should be stationed in such hemp farms to monitor activities so that anyone caught trying to do something different would be arrested and jail.
Iyama who was a former President of Cocoa Association of Nigeria, said that there were many of products that could bring 10 times more money than oil that should be promoted.
He said that Nigeria needed to do the needy in agriculture, adding that oil would one day finish unlike farming.
Iyama said Nigeria should be thinking of not only the ability to feed itself but Africa as a whole.
“We need to put ourselves in a position that we not only feed ourselves but Africa. Let’s concentrate on agriculture for now,” Iyama said.
He lauded the Buhari administration for it commitment to agriculture and commended NECAS for cueing into the government programmes.
He described the National President of NECAS, Alhaji Sadiq Daware, as an intelligent and committed man that deserve all support cooperation to improve farmers in North East.
