With the vagaries of the international oil market and the current global financial crisis, the need for Nigeria to diversify her income base cannot be overemphasized. These were the words of Nigeria's Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources, Dr. Sayyadi Abba Ruma.

He said the dwindling external earnings occasioned by the slide in oil prices and the restiveness of youths in the Niger Delta definitely have telling effects on Nigeria's finances and her development plans.

He further said that rural dwellers that constitute the majority of the nation's population are being further driven into poverty by both the global food and financial crises.

Government's basic responsibility to its people is to alleviate poverty and promote development and there is no other way of achieving these than by diversifying the economy. This is what informed government's determination to redouble efforts in agric development.

He revealed that government realized that despite the neglect suffered in past years, agriculture still contributes significantly to internal revenue and has the potential of solving the nation's unemployment problems.