The Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Nigeria, Mr John Groffen, on Tuesday expressed his government’s readiness to support Nigeria in boosting her food production for the international market.
Groffen told newsmen in Lagos that his government would sustain the immediate-past administration’s agricultural transformation agenda, if the new administration would continue with it.
“As we all know, food is what every human needs for survival. We strongly believe that agricultural development is the key to unlocking Nigeria’s potential.

“Nigeria is a place that is intended for agricultural development and good food production. The agriculture development potential in Nigeria is enormous.
“Our attention goes to the agricultural transformation of the previous Nigerian government. We hope that this will continue with the present administration,’’ he said.
The envoy, who noted that Nigeria’s agriculture sector was still being faced with some challenges, disclosed that Dutch agricultural companies plan to support Nigerian farmers in their farming operations.
Groffen said that his embassy had recently facilitated a Dutch agricultural companies’ delegation to Nigeria, to enable them interact and share technical know-how with Nigerian farmers.
“Dutch agricultural companies are more than willing to share their farming experiences in boosting food production with Nigerian farmers.
“We are the second largest exporter of agricultural products in the world.
“We, therefore, think that we have some knowledge and know-how that we can and want to share with Nigerian farmers,’’ he said.
Groffen expressed optimism that the planned agricultural development cooperation with Nigeria would also afford Dutch farmers the opportunity to learn some farming operations from their Nigerian counterparts.

(NAN)