The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, on Monday, assumed office and vowed that the Federal Government will ensure that it feeds Nigerians and exports food to earn foreign exchange for the country.
He said these were the targets of his team, stressing that Nigeria had the potential to achieve the set goals.
Kyari spoke at the headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in Abuja during a brief reception organised by the ministry for him and the Minister of State, Aliyu Abdullahi.
He said, “We know the challenge that we face now. Hunger is one of the big problems that we have in this country. When I say hunger, it also means food and there are challenges to food security, insecurity is one of them, flooding is another, there are other issues.
“For me and for my colleague – the Minister of State, and even state governors, the biggest hope that we have is the political will driven by President Bola Tinubu.
“I think we have a big challenge but it is not insurmountable. Our target is not only to secure and feed the country but also to export food which we have that potential and it is just there.”
The Governor of Borno State Prof. Babagana Zulum, who accompanied the ministers to the ministry, said Nigeria need long and medium-term plans that were sustainable to address food insecurity.
He said the country should invest in commercial agriculture, and adopt modern agricultural techniques such as irrigation, green technology, among others.
“What we are doing now, providing palliatives to Nigerians will never solve our problems because these are shorter-term solutions. We must look for medium and longer-term sustainable solutions that will address the problem of insecurity, food insecurity in Nigeria.
“Therefore the only alternative we have is to invest in commercial agriculture, modern agriculture, irrigated agriculture, green technology, emerging technology and so on, that is the only solution.
“Our population is growing in quick geometrical ratio while our food supply is dwindling, unless something is being done, we shall never get rid of these problems,” Zulum stated.
