Nigeria not serious about agriculture – Chinese farmer

A 70-year-old Chinese farmer, Mr. Chen Elin William, based in Nasarawa State, North-central Nigeria, has berated past regimes in the country and other stakeholders for not paying serious attention to agriculture. He urged the present administration to make the sector the mainstay of the nation’s economy. Speaking with Daily Trust in an interview in his […]

A 70-year-old Chinese farmer, Mr. Chen Elin William, based in Nasarawa State, North-central Nigeria, has berated past regimes in the country and other stakeholders for not paying serious attention to agriculture.

He urged the present administration to make the sector the mainstay of the nation’s economy.
Speaking with Daily Trust in an interview in his farm located at Sabon Gida, in Kokona Local Government Area of the state, the integrated farmer who was kidnapped sometime in October this year, lamented that the government and many Nigerians have failed to give agriculture the attention it needed to flourish.
William maintained that this negative attitude has hindered economic diversification and deprived the country and its people of huge income.
He said: “Nigeria has a lot of agricultural resources but the country is not serious about it. Many Nigerians are lazy and play with farm work. Farm workers are not honest and ready to work. They only need the salary. We carry money to the last kobo to invest in agriculture but the workers are not honest. Government gives no help, so, no gain.”
The Chinese farmer, who is into exotic vegetables, orchard and fish farming, told our reporter that he has been in Nigeria for over 30 years and bought the land where he is currently farming about seven years ago, having failed in several other investments in other states in the country.
He said: “The state governments were looking for investors and I came into the North. I was at the Wara irrigation site in Kebbi State for three years. We planted 10,000 hectares of rice. I spent about N150m but it was much talking, talking and no action. So, I left there. I was in Sokoto too. Kano, Imo, Abia, Rivers and Bayelsa invited me but I refused to go. I decided to buy this place and start my farm.
“Nigeria can export rice. There is a great potential for rice farming in the country. The government and people need to be serious to achieve this.”
He said many farmers in Nigeria, including himself, were not making gains due to lack of government policies to protect the farmers.
William said that other challenges facing farmers in Nigeria, especially the foreigners, were insecurity, kidnapping, insurgency and corruption.