…AGRIC MINISTRY to partner global body for food/nutrition security
By Dele Ogbodo
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, has expressed the Ministry’s readiness to partner Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) to tackle food and nutrition security, post-harvest losses among others.
The Minister made this known during a courtesy visit to his office by the Country Director, GAIN, Dr. Micheal Ojo, in Abuja, recently.
The Country Director averred that food and nutrition was a significant challenge for every Nigerian as over 90% of the population can’t afford healthy diet which results in malnutrition and sometimes loss of lives.
However, the Minister pointed out that food security was one priority of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda which focuses on agriculture and food security as well as good nutrition.
In his words, “We were given the mandate to ensure that the country is food secured and we are ready to collaborate with partners to ensure its actualization and sustainability”.
The Minister emphasized that the current state of food security was threatened by issues of availability and affordability, stressing that malnutrition and rates of food inflation required that we work all year round to ensure increased food production while putting in place, measures to make food available, accessible, affordable and of the right nutrition on a sustainable basis.
He stressed on the underlying challenges and called for innovative and trending solutions.
He therefore enjoined the organization to participate in the fourth-coming agricultural summit and requested for their document to be included in the Ministry’s document, pointing out that “it should be a workable and sustainable document for the benefit of the populace”.
Earlier, Ojo stated that the organization had enjoyed a good relationship with the Ministry over the years and hoped for its sustainability to transform the country’s food system.
He revealed that food and nutrition was a significant challenge for every Nigerian as over 90% of the population can’t afford healthy diet which results in malnutrition and sometimes loss of lives.
Dr. Ojo noted that their aim was to work and deliver healthy diet to over 25% of the population around the world of which Nigeria was included, adding that the organization intended to collaborate with the Ministry in the area of food value chains such as maize, rice, cassava among others.
In a similar vein, the Minister also received in audience the delegation from Anhui Huayun Biotech Co. ltd led by the Managing Director, Mr. Wang Yun.
In his remarks, the Managing Director promised to give support to Nigeria in the area of agriculture mechanization, irrigation systems such as solar pumps amongst others to tackle the challenges of food insecurity in the country.
