The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has stated that agriculture has generated over 2.2 million jobs in under one year of the implementation of the new programme in the sector.
Briefing State House correspondents on the development, the Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwumi Adesina declared that within one year, 13 new rice mills have been installed in the country while the distribution of seeds to farmers has taken a new and improved dimension never seen before in the country.
He listed seeds that are effectively distributed are cassava, cocoa, rice, maize, oil palm and cotton
According to the Minister, the progress is recorded following the clean-up of corruption in the procurement of fertilizer using the e-wallet system.
Dr Adesina noted that private sector investment in the agriculture sector from the World Bank is in the tune of $500 million.
Giving a further breakdown of investments from the private sector, the Minister stated that an investment of about $80 million has come in from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
The USAID is said to have has invested $60 million while the Bill Gates Foundation has invested $5 million in the nation’s agriculture sector.
This revelation is coming, after a directive from the President that Ministers will henceforth give an assessment of the progress report of their performance since the inception of the administration.
