Abuja, Dec. 2, 2023: The Federal Government and Sustain Africa Initiative on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to revamp the nation’s agriculture sector and enhance food security.
The MoU was signed at the office of Vice President Kashim Shettima at Presidential Villa, Abuja
Shettima said President Bola Tinubu was passionate about repositioning the nation’s agriculture sector towards achieving sustainable food security in the country.
He described the signing of the MoU as a significant milestone in the commitment of the Tinubu administration to the prosperity and sustainability of agriculture in Nigeria.
Shettima restated Tinubu’s resolve to reposition the agriculture sector, saying “it is not about us sitting in the comfort of our air-conditioned offices.
“We really need to see what the farmers are going through. My boss, President Tinubu is irrevocably committed to repositioning Nigerian agriculture. Agricultural Economist by training, a Banker by profession and now a politician by calling.
“Without sufficient, quality inputs, without investing in the immediate technology, without devoting our time to best agricultural practice, our output will remain low.
“And sadly, fertilizer is an inestimable input in agriculture and we are finding it difficult investing in it.”
He thanked the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for being quite supportive of the issues of the African farmer.
He said “without impacting positively on the output of the African farmer our productivity will remain low and issues of food security will not go away.
“As rightly said by the President of the Farmers Association of Nigeria, all that the Nigerian farmer needs is to have input at his doorstep and at affordable prices.
“I want to convey to you the warm wishes and regards of my Principal, President Tinubu, who has the courage to declare a state of emergency in the agric sector.
“For the withdrawal of the fuel subsidy more than any other sector, inflationary trend in Nigeria is affecting every other issue.
“This is why we are gearing up towards launching an agricultural transformation plan for the next agricultural season.
“Even in the dry season farming we are engaging in wheat cultivation in an effort to bring down the cost of food stuff.”
Shettima assured that the partnership with the sustain Africa Initiative was for real.
He noted that to guide Nigeria’s agriculture to a lasting prosperity, the plight of the ordinary Nigerian must first be understood.
“With the signing of the MoU, it is expected that over the next few months, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, in conjunction with her partners, will visit all the six-geo-political zones to engage farmers.
“These insights will support the reforms, interventions, partnerships and innovations envisioned in the Ministry’s strategic plans and Sustain Africa’s intention in contributing to increasing resilience in Nigeria’s food systems.”
Earlier, the leader of delegation and Executive Director, Sustain Africa Initiative, Mr Ben Valk, praised Tinubu administration for its commitment in transforming the food system in Nigeria.
He expressed hope that smallholder farmers would benefit from his knowledge and experience, which they have garnered from other parts of Africa.
The MoU was signed on behalf of the Federal Government by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agribusiness, Dr Kingsley Uzoma, while Mr Michael Sudarkasa signed on behalf of Sustain Africa Initiative.
Present at the MoU signing ceremony were the Minister of State for Agriculture, Aliyu Sabi-Abdullahi and other senior government officials.
Sustain Africa Initiative is a crisis response and resilience initiative to improve availability, affordability and effectiveness as well as sustainable use of fertilizer in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The initiative works as a coordination mechanism among public and private sector partners to help smallholder farmers access affordable fertilizer.
Its programmes particularly target hard-hit regions and farmers in focus countries.
