From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
A member of the House of Representatives, Chimaobi Ebisike, has called on the National Assembly to treat the agriculture sector as a special case and increased its budgetary allocation in 2022.
Ebisike who made the call in Aba while declaring open a one-week skill acquisition and entrepreneurial workshop for his constituents said this was the time for Nigeria to diversify its economy to forestall the impending hunger from 2022.
The workshop which cuts across party lines and for both indigenes and non-indigenes of Aba North/Aba South federal constituency will focus on poultry farming, aquaculture, horticulture, snail-rearing, beekeeping, mushroom farming and piggery.
‘This is the time to go back to agricultural-based economy, even as he used the forum to task the people of his constituents to develop more interest in various levels of farming and make it a way of life.
‘I believe that this training is coming at a very appropriate time, having just witnessed various waves of the global pandemic and their attendant loss of jobs as well as the closedown of many small and medium scale businesses leading to an economic crunch and drop in capital income of Nigerians,’ he said.
He disclosed that he had set up an advisory committee with representatives from every town union in the state in order to carry along all members of his constituents, adding that the measure is targeted at harmonising interests across all unions in the Aba North/Aba South federal constituency.