Researcher Urges FG To Include Date Palm In ATA To Combat Desertification

[Shola Sholaz]

Mr Chukwuemeka Eke has urged the Federal Government to include date palm in its Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) to ensure food security and combat desertification.
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Eke, a researcher with the Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research Institute (NIFOR) in an interview in Abuja said that it could earn farmers about N2 million per hectare in a year if included in the ATA.
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He said that for a country of over 160 million citizens striving to grow economically and to meet its quest for food sufficiency, more should be done in the area of agriculture.
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"Cultivating this excellent crop is profitable and will remove a lot of families from poverty and improve small-scale farmers' livelihood in Nigeria.
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"The crop will provide food and raw materials for domestic use, such as livestock supplements".