ShareJolted by the need to encourage farmers in the country to contribute to the gross domestic output and diversify the economy, the Federal Government has put in place measures to remove duties on agricultural equipment. According to the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko, the gesture will boost local agricultural production, generate employment and reduce youth restiveness. Dikko said the government was moving towards agriculture to help grow the country economically and politically, adding that agriculture was one of the back bones of any economy. “We have realised that we have to face the reality of time. Agriculture is a back bone of any economy this has made the FG bend more towards agriculture. “The President has removed all import duties on agricultural equipment and we are trying to patronise goods that are being manufactured in Nigeria to boost our own production, create more employment opportunities and reduce restiveness, so that the country will have peace and we will move forward economically.’’ In a related event, the Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has revealed that the Cassava Transformation Plan of his ministry was meant to revive the economy and create jobs for the unemployed in Nigeria. Speaking recently during a meeting with partners from the bakery industry, the minister explained that Nigeria’s food import bill is exceptionally high; with the top four imports consuming over 1.3 trillion naira in foreign exchange every year. “Our food imports is growing at an unsustainable rate of 11 per cent per annum, fueling domestic inflation and driving poverty. We are importing products that we can either produce in abundance, such as N356 billion naira worth of rice, N217 billion naira worth of sugar and N97 billion worth of fish; or are importing products that we can easily find local alternatives for. For us to reduce our import bill, such as the N635 billion being spent on importing wheat, there is need to encourage local production.”