I would like to see the Tinubu administration declare 2024 as the Nigerian Year of Agriculture and launch an ambitious agro-processing plan centred around the following crops

Ayo Akinfe

[1] Coconuts

[2] Cashews

[3] Cocoa

[4] Palm oil

[5] Plantain

[6] Groundnuts

[7] Neem

[8] Gum arabic

[9] Millet

[10] Sorghum

Surely we know that we should build a food processing industry around these crops. This should involve the construction of processing plants, railway lines, export terminals, silos, warehouses, etc.

State governors have to be the ones driving this programme. They need to get local farmers to form cooperatives, woo international processors and attract investment to develop their infrastructure.

Products we should aim to produce from all these crops should include:

[1] Packaged food

[2] Snacks

[3] Animal feed compound

[4] Biofuel

[5] Beer

[6] Soft drinks

[7] Chocolate products like bars and cakes

[8] Beverages that can compete with tea and coffee

[9] Soaps and detergents

[10] Industrial lubricants