The Honourable representing Lagelu/Akinyele Federal Constituency in Oyo State, Honourable Olatoye Temitope Sugar, has decried the level of poverty and financial dearth among many Nigerians especially in this economic recession.

Hon. Sugar expressed his displeasure at the prevalence of poverty among the masses during the second edition of an interactive media chat organised by the South West Group of Online Publishers (SWEGOP), held at CEOAfrica building.

The lawmaker, during the media chat, noted that some of the reasons why the country’s economy is in a terrible state are our overdependence on oil and our neglect of agricultural sector, adding that production of food is the backbone of every strong economy.

He stated that to tackle the pervasiveness of poverty and to reduce hunger in the nation, everyone, especially youths, must be actively involved in agriculture. According to Hon. Sugar, “The way out of poverty is that everyone should try to be involved in subsistence farming. With that, people won’t be hungry.”

Hon. Sugar also stated that getting people involved in agriculture will go a long way to alleviate hunger and in turn boost the economy. He however observed that most youths do not want to venture into agriculture as they are searching for white collar jobs. “How many youths want to go into agriculture these days?” he asked.

Citing himself as an example, Hon. Sugar revealed that despite the fact that he is a lawmaker, he is equally a farmer who owns over 5000 acres of cassava plantation and he also involved in fish farming. He added that with this, he has about 50 employees whom he pays for working on the farm.

The honourable advised that Nigerians should not just sit idle and clamour for government to help them but that they should also help themselves and contribute their own quota to the nation’s economy.