Write an article suitable for publication in a national newspaper on the benefits that will be derived from the government showing interest in agriculture.

Answer Details

WHY GOVERNMENT MUST INVEST IN AGRICULTURE

For too long, our nation has leaned almost entirely on oil, treating agriculture as the poor relation of the economy. Yet the land beneath our feet holds the surest key to our prosperity. It is time to state plainly the great benefits that will flow from the government showing genuine interest in agriculture.

The first and most obvious benefit is food security. A country that cannot feed itself is never truly free. When the government supports farmers with fertilisers, improved seeds, loans and modern equipment, food production will rise, prices will fall, and hunger will be driven from our homes. A well-fed nation is a healthy and productive nation.

Secondly, agriculture is a powerful weapon against unemployment. Farming and its allied trades, processing, packaging, transport and marketing, can absorb millions of our idle youths. Instead of roaming the streets in frustration, young people can find dignified and rewarding work on the land, and the crime that springs from idleness will be greatly reduced.

Thirdly, a thriving agricultural sector will boost the economy and earn foreign exchange. Cash crops such as cocoa, cotton, rubber and oil palm, once the pride of our nation, can again be exported in large quantities. This will diversify our income, reduce our costly dependence on imported food, and strengthen our currency.

Furthermore, agriculture feeds our industries. Factories that produce textiles, beverages, vegetable oil and countless other goods depend on farm produce as raw materials. When agriculture flourishes, industry flourishes with it, and the whole chain of the economy is set in motion.

Finally, developing agriculture will breathe new life into our rural areas. The provision of roads, water, electricity and markets to farming communities will check the drift of young people to the overcrowded cities and spread development evenly across the land.

The lesson is clear. A nation that neglects its farms plants the seeds of its own poverty, while a nation that invests in agriculture reaps food, jobs, wealth and stability. Our government must therefore give agriculture the serious attention it deserves, and it must do so without delay.