Mustapha Shehuri, Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, has described the country’s food system as weak and vulnerable to shocks.
Shehuri said this on Monday at the year’s ‘Feed Nigeria Summit’ held in Abuja.
Represented by Karima Babangida, director of Federal Department of Agriculture, Shehuri said the summit will assist the ministry to re-examine the weak link, with a view to strengthening it for an agricultural system that will work for Nigeria and stabilise food security.
He said the ministry was determined to create a functional food system that will guarantee all citizens unrestricted access to good quality, nutritious and safe food. “This underscores the various programmes and interventions that are ongoing in the ministry in areas of agricultural livelihood and support, food safety, and the provision of infrastructure in different ecological zones of the country,” he said.
He said for a sustainable food system, the country must rise to overcome the challenges of poor quality food supplies, hunger, malnutrition and improper habit of food wastage. “This is the acceptable consumption behaviour globally to which the average Nigerian, especially in the urban areas, pays little or no attention,” he said.