The Federal Government has earmarked N10 billion to commence commercial agricultural activities in ten Nigerian universities. This initiative aims to boost agricultural research and food security in the country.
The Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Arch. Sonny Echono, disclosed this on Thursday during the commissioning of the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering building, constructed by TETFund at Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi.
According to the TETFund boss, the project was part of the 2023 annual intervention and was inaugurated as part of activities marking the university’s 26th–31st combined convocation ceremony.
Echono stated that the N10 billion intervention fund for commercial agriculture in ten Nigerian universities is an initiative of President Tinubu’s administration to help tertiary institutions become self-reliant.
He said:
“When we met with Mr President, he specifically gave us the mandate to begin preparing our universities to become self-reliant and explore other relevant avenues to generate revenue instead of relying solely on government allocations.
Mr President asked us to identify universities with vast land that can be used for commercial agriculture, not only for the training of their students.”*
He added:
“As part of this year’s intervention, Mr President approved N10 billion for ten universities. Having seen the facilities here and considering that JOSTUM is an agricultural university, it will be one of them.
If you look at countries like the United States, for example, only five per cent of their population is engaged in agriculture. Because they adopt modern techniques and technology, they are not only able to feed their entire country but also export a significant amount of food.
This is something we, as a people and as a government, should embrace. Many countries around the world are not as well-endowed as we are. With our rich, fertile land and hardworking people, if we prepare them well, train them, and modernise our agriculture, we can transform this economy in no time.
You can begin to showcase the possibilities so that others can follow suit, and together, we can change our narrative as a country.”
ALSO READ: I cohabited with Chioma for eight years before marriage — Davido
Echono commended the Vice-Chancellor for the judicious use of resources from TETFund, stressing:
“As a son of the soil, I am particularly proud that we are making improvements in a university located in our region.”
In his speech, the Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, commended the university authorities for the effective utilisation of the resources allocated to the institution.
He stated that the facilities built and commissioned are part of the major interventions for 2023 and 2024.
Dr Alausa, who was represented by the Director of University Education at the Federal Ministry of Education, Rakiyya Illyasu, urged other tertiary institutions to emulate JOSTUM by providing the necessary infrastructure.
He said:
*”I want to commend the university management for their efforts. They have utilised the 2024 TETFund intervention effectively by constructing quality infrastructure. If other universities follow this example, in the next 15 years, our institutions will reach higher standards.
By September 2025, another intervention will be released and accessed by JOSTUM, which will be used for the renovation of infrastructure, including toilets, hostels, and other facilities.”*