The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi has disclosed that President Bola Tinubu mandated him and the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, to move Nigeria away from food insecurity and ensure that no Nigerian goes to bed hungry.
Abdullahi stated this in Abuja at the Nigerian Women for Agricultural Progressive and Development Initiative (NWAPDI) Youth Wing Convention, with the theme “Sowing the Seeds of Sustainability: Nigerian Youth Transforming Agriculture for a Greener Future.” He said, towards this end, the government has put in place some robust policies and measures to achieve food security in Nigeria.
According to the minister, “The President has told us severally that his vision is a nation where no man goes to bed hungry.” He stated that there is no civilisation without food security, adding that “lack of food security cannot be tolerated in any nation.” He contended that Nigeria has all the potential to achieve food security, noting that Nigeria’s arable land is about 73 million hectares, while 34 million hectares are currently under cultivation.
While encouraging Nigerian youth to embrace agriculture, he asserted that “agriculture remains the only source of sustainable wealth.”
The minister said that part of policies introduced by the Federal Government to drive sustainable food production is the drive towards Mechanisation which had been introduced to remove the drudgery associated with subsistence farming.
According to him, “President Tinubu has approved some powerful agricultural intervention programmes in agriculture mechanisation. GThe Greener Hope National Agricultural Mechanisation Programme (GHAPP) has been approved for the establishment of modern agricultural mechanisation service centres and hubs across 37 farming clusters. The programme will leverage technical partnerships from South Korea, Taiwan, and Brazil to produce and supply agricultural machinery and establish enterprise centres nationwide.
“We also have the Balerius Agric Mechanisation programme which is expected to provide 10,000 tractors over the period of 5 years. “We also have a John Deere agricultural Mechanisation programme, where tractors, ridgers, among others are expected to be provided. All tractors are smart tractors.”
To ensure precision agriculture, he explained that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security would soon establish the Nigeria Farmers’ Soil Health Card Scheme (NFSHCS), as a pivotal initiative aimed at integrating principles of agroecology and regenerative agriculture, in line with the vision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He explained that Nigeria Farmer’s Soil Health Card would increase awareness of the health of soil in agricultural areas across the country to boost productivity and bring about prosperity.
In his remarks, Dr. Yusuf Sununu, Minister of State for Education, said his Ministry would work with some States to ensure the establishment of School Farm Clubs, as part of measures to catch them young. Sununu, who commended the organisers of the Convention, urged them to ensure that the activities of the organisation get to the people at the grassroots. In her welcome address, National Co-ordinator of NWAPDI, Omolara Swenson, underscored the crucial role of youth in agricultural productivity. Swenson pointed out that “Food security, accessibility, climate change, farm technology, risk management, and financial empowerment are critical issues that we must address to ensure a bright future for our agriculture.”