Against the backdrop of falling crude price in the international market and its adverse effect on the revenue base of all tiers of government in the country, an aide to Governor Rochas Okorocha, Hon. Lisa Asugha Ayalla has made a passionate appeal to Imolites to go back to agriculture as a way out of the current economic downturn which experts have predicted would last for some time.
The Special Assistant Special Duties to the governor posited that unless effort is made by the citizenry to buy into the many Rescue Government agricultural policies and initiatives the downturn experienced now owing to over reliance on oil money would linger because oil is never a sustainable and renewable product whose value can compete with that of agriculture.
Hon. Asugha Ayalla who, bared her mind in Owerri, during an interactive session with newsmen insisted that current slump in the price of crude was a serious wakeup call on the people to embrace agriculture which in the past, was the mainstay of the economy of the South East zone which is Imo is an integral part of and indeed, that of the country.
She highlighted the many attractive qualities of the sector to include but not limited to return on investment, value chain, food security, massive job creation, as well as wealth generation for government and farmers.
She specifically singled out agricultural value chain which according to her makes it possible for every agricultural product to yield many finished products each of which has potential to create jobs, raise revenue and put food on the table for the people.
While calling on the people of the state to quickly embrace agriculture the Special Duties aide argued that Gov Okorocha had long ago seen the wisdom to go back to agriculture as the way forward leading to the initiation and launching of the popular palm to palm campaign at the beginning of his first term.
According to her, the palm to palm initiative apart from its potential of returning the state to the good old days when palm oil was the bedrock of its economy can as well return the state to the status of an palm oil exporter just Malaysia which incidentally took its first palm seedlings from here.
She also revealed that Gov Okorocha as a leader who leads by example has taken to agriculture and equally encouraged his aides to take to the field to strengthen their money making capacity even as she opined that the Imo young Millionaires Farmers Club recently floated by the governor stand as another eloquent proof of the administration’s resolve to mainstream agriculture pointing that the onus is now on the people of the state to buy into the governor’s broad agricultural agenda which, when fully embraced by the people especially the youth can change their fortune and rub of positively on the state.
