Nigeria seeks China’s partnership on seeds research, training

Nigeria has appealed to China for assistance in the areas of seeds research, agriculture machinery and training for youths and rural farmers to promote the country’s agriculture sector.

Audu Ogbeh, the minister of agriculture and rural development, receiving Xu Dazhe, the governor Hunan Province and his team in Abuja said the partnership would help Nigeria increase its food production potential to meet the rising food demands of its growing population.

Nigeria has about 45 million hectares of land which remains yet to be cultivated or used for agricultural purposes.

“We have a chance to build a strong partnership because I know you (China) are very strong in food production. Everybody in the world is fascinated by the progress which China has made. China is a strong partner for the development of agriculture; over 60 percent of our population is young people and they need food. We will definitely need support from China and Hunan Province.”

Speaking, Dazhe said that the team was in the country to deepen the relations between Nigeria and China as well as Hunan Province.

According to the governor, Hunan Province is a hub of grains production and food supply in China, with gross domestic product (GDP) of $53 billion and growth rate of eight percent as of 2017.

“Hunan Province tops China in rice production and our livestock sector is also very competitive,” he said.
Hunan is the 7th most populous province of China and has Changsha as its capital.