The Federal Government has restated its commitment to scaling agricultural productivity, expanding livelihood opportunities and driving wealth creation across Nigeria.
Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, made this known at a ministerial sectoral retreat in Abuja themed “Performance Improvement and Strategic Alignment.” He said the Tinubu administration’s declaration of a state of emergency in agriculture was aimed at shifting Nigeria from subsistence farming to a commercial, profit-driven agricultural system.
According to Kyari, food sufficiency is critical to national stability, adding that the ministry is working with international partners to secure funding, expertise and technology to strengthen the sector. He noted that priority areas include farmers’ safety, rural infrastructure, agricultural research, innovation and climate-smart farming practices.
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The minister also highlighted the National Food Reserve Programme, designed to mop up excess production, stabilise prices and support farmers’ incomes. He added that partnerships with Belarus, John Deere and Brazil are underway to manufacture agricultural machinery locally and close Nigeria’s tractorisation gap.
Kyari stressed the need to make farming more competitive through industrial integration and profitable agribusiness, anchored on the policy of “eating what we produce and producing what we eat.”
Minister of State, Aliyu Abdullahi, said the retreat focused on capacity building, research and innovation to achieve sustainable agriculture, while Permanent Secretary Marcus Ogunbiyi described the meeting as timely for repositioning the ministry for greater impact.
