The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh recently revealed that one of the measures adopted by the Federal Government in diversifying Nigeria’s economy is through beekeeping.
Ogbeh said the instability in the international price of crude oil, which is Nigeria’s major revenue source, had impacted negatively on many economies, including the country’s, adding that the Federal Government decided to exploit the beekeeping sector to help reduce poverty across the country.
In his speech at the opening of the ApiExpo Africa 2018 in Abuja, the minister observed that despite the government’s intervention in the beekeeping sector, operators in the industry were still practising subsistence system that needed to go commercial.
He said, “I am elated to stand before you this morning to talk about one of the measures the government is taking to sustain development, create wealth and diversify the economy. This is through the beekeeping industry. It is a known fact that the price of crude oil in the international market is not stable and at times it goes low enough to destabilise economies, especially for a country like Nigeria, whose economy is dependent on oil.”