The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, has revealed that the government has immediate and short-term plans for developing a standard framework and guide for the ease of doing agriculture and food security in the country.
The Minister stated this on Tuesday at the Opening of the Annual Agricultural Show organised by the National Agricultural Foundation of Nigeria (NAFN) with the theme ‘Towards the Realisation of the Presidential Declaration of Emergency on Food Security’, held in Nasarawa State.
The Minister said organising an agricultural show is usually a significant undertaking, and an incredible amount of hard work is necessary to create such unique events and ensure they are successful.
Kyari further stated that the activities in the Agriculture Show present spin-off benefits to the gathering of all stakeholders in the sector by serving as high-level platforms for business-business linkage, technology transfer, knowledge exchange, public-private collaboration, and policy discourse among participants drawn from all walks of life.
“Over time, agricultural shows have become veritable tools for showcasing the latest developments within the agricultural sector.
It brings people together to network, to do business, and to give the public a glimpse into farming life. It also provides a hub for the farming and rural communities to meet, exchange ideas, and, above all, have a few days away from the farms”, the minister said.
In his address, the National President of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) and the Chairman BoT of NAFN, Arch. Kabiru Ibrahim said that to scale up food security, there is a need to incentivize smallholder farmers (SHFs) through the stemming of insecurity that impedes seamless access to farms.
He reiterated the need to provide direct subsidies on seeds and all inputs by all tiers of government (federal, state, and LGAs) and the continuous provision of mechanisation through the provision of light agricultural farm machinery before making heavy-duty tractors and combine harvesters.
He said it was disheartening that a number of smallholder farmers are in debt because they cannot afford to buy fertilisers at present-day prices, thereby appealing for direct subsidies on fertilisers for farmers.
“There is every need to resuscitate the PFI and make fertiliser available and affordable to smallholder farmers, like Coca-Cola products that sell at the same price in all states. He does, however, appeal for the resuscitation of the National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) and to make good seeds easily accessible and affordable to all smallholder farmers.
The Nasarawa State Deputy Governor, Dr Emmanuel Akabe, called on stakeholders, captains of industries, and development partners to invest massively in agriculture to transform Nigeria into a virile country for food security and value chain addition.
Akabe said agriculture remains the cornerstone for the sustainable socio-economic development of the country, and it is the hub through which Nigeria can achieve the triple benefit of creating employment, generating wealth, and establishing industries that will process agricultural produce for consumption and exportation.
He said this year’s event was critical in restoring the lost glory of agriculture as one of the major contributors to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and a foreign exchange earner for our dear nation.
According to him, President Tinubu has recently approved the immediate release of fertilisers and grains to farmers and households to mitigate the effects of the fuel subsidy removal.
He said, “Nigeria is endowed with human resources, mostly populated by youths, and it is the responsibility of everyone to support the government because the government alone cannot do it.
The Deputy Governor, however, appealed to the youths to engage in agricultural practices to achieve employment and enrich our nation with a food value chain that will ensure food security and engender industrialisation in our dear nation.
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