Reps Approve Establishment of Federal College of Agriculture Ukanafun AKS

Jonas Ezieke, Abuja

The House of Representatatives has passed into second reading a bill seeking to establish the Federal College of Agriculture Ukanafun Akwa Ibom State to provide for full time teaching of courses and training in agriculture in Nigeria

The House had earlier passed the bill titled “A Bill for an Act to Establish the Federal College of Agriculture Ukanafun Akwa Ibom State and For Related Matters’imto the first reading at plenary

Leading the debate on the Bill, the sponsor Hon Unyime Josiah Idem said that the bill seeks among other things to put in place a legal framework for the establishment of a Federal College of Agriculture Ukanafun Akwa Ibom State State to make comprehensive provision for its due management and administration.

He said agricultural development is one of the most powerful tools to end extreme poverty, boost shared prosperity and feed a projected 9.7 billion people by 2050.

The lawmaker further argued that agriculture is crucial to economic growth adding that it had contributed 21.09 percent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product GDP in the first half of 2022.

He also said that the agricultural sector had topped the charting a survey of seven sectors identified to have contributed to Nigeria’s economy in the second quarter of 2022 outperforming six other sectors comprising trade, telecommunications, manufacturing,oil and gas, real estate as well as finance and insurance.

He told his colleagues that in order to harness the benefits of modern agriculture in our daily lives and national development, we must give priority to this sector in our educational institutions to train our young minds to create and engage in research and innovative platform for agricultural growth.

Consequently the House praised over by the Speaker Hon Femi Gbajabiamila passed the bill into second reading and referred the proposed legislation to the House Committee of Agricultural College and Institutions for further actions.