President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday in New York reaffirmed the commitment of the federal government to attain national food security.
Mr Femi Adesina, the President’s spokesman, in a statement, said the president stated this at the Food Systems Summit, as part of the High Level meetings of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
He said that Nigeria had developed a “food system focused development agenda that prioritizes healthy diets and affordable nutrition, inclusive, efficient, resilient, and sustainable, which will contribute to rebuilding our economy, create jobs and spur growth across sectors, while sustaining our ecosystems.”
Buhari disclosed that the plan was the outcome of a wide-range stakeholder engagement geared towards a better understanding of our 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,” he said.
He added that the country was also committed to skills’ development and information management systems that would enhance agricultural productivity; build sustainable, responsive and inclusive food systems.
The President said Nigeria would continue to enhance the productivity of smallholder farmers and empower women and youths for greater access to food production.
According to him, Nigeria will also continue to strengthen climate mitigation strategies and conflict early warning systems that will reduce the many stresses and shocks to the food systems.
The President commended the initiative of the UN Secretary-General for convening the Summit, describing 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.”
He said: Nigeria works “to transform our 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”, the president added.
