Horticulture is a multi-billion dollar industry waiting to be tapped in Nigeria and it has the capacity of generating as much as three million direct and indirect jobs particularly for the teeming youth and women, the Assistant Director of Horticulture in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Oyeleke Abdulrazaq from Federal Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development says.

He said this while reviewing the status of horticulture industry in Nigeria and nature of the proposed centre of excellence at a technical meeting on domiciling Nigeria Global Good Agricultural Practices (NGAP) and Centre of Excellence in Kaduna State.

According to him, the demand for horticulture produce and products including tomatoes, mango, citrus, pawpaw, plantain and banana among others is almost insatiable, adding that to have marketing opportunities in Nigeria and abroad, there is need to have a programme on quality assurance that will be convincing to consumers of Nigeria products.

He however assured of the Minister of Agriculture’s commitment to supporting Kaduna State government in this initiative of fast tracking the programme of quality assurance.

Source: Daily Trust