President Muhammadu Buhari has explained what the federal government is doing to attain food security in Nigeria. He spoke on Thursday while participating in the Food Systems Summit, as part of the High-Level Meetings of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the United States.
The President disclosed that Nigeria had developed a “food system focused development agenda that prioritises healthy diets and affordable nutrition, inclusive, efficient, resilient, and sustainable, which will contribute to rebuilding our economy, creating jobs, and spurring growth across sectors while sustaining our ecosystems.”
He said the plan was the outcome of a wide-range stakeholder engagement geared towards a better understanding of their food systems, experiences, and needs.
“Following the recommendations from the dialogues and our plan to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty within a decade, Nigeria is committed to investing in food security and nutrition knowledge dissemination, skills development, and information management systems to enhance agricultural productivity, building sustainable, responsive, and inclusive food systems, enhancing the productivity of smallholder farmers, and empowering women and youths for greater access to food production,” President Buhari was quoted as saying in a statement by his media adviser, Femi Adesina.
According to him, the government intends to achieve this while strengthening climate mitigation strategies and adhere to early warning systems that will reduce the stress and shock to the nation’s food systems.
The President commended the initiative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for convening the Summit.
He described it as “a bold step towards achieving the 2030 global development agenda at a time COVID-19 pandemic and its attendant consequences are threatening progress.”
President Buhari stressed that Nigeria would work to transform its food systems and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda.
“We hope to learn from and collaborate with member states that have grappled or are grappling with food systems concerns similar to ours. We especially support the emerging coalitions of actions and sustainable food systems,” he added.