FG Reaffirms Commitment to Food Security, Job Creation Through Agriculture
The Federal Government has restated its commitment to tackling food insecurity and unemployment by strengthening the agriculture and livestock sectors.
The Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Maiha, stated this on Monday at the second International Conference of the Agrifood Systems Stakeholders Forum held at the University of Port Harcourt.
The conference, organised by the Agricultural Policy Research Network, focused on developing solutions to food insecurity, poverty and youth unemployment.
Represented by the Director of Ruminant and Monogastric Development, Victor Egbon, Maiha called for stronger collaboration among stakeholders to advance agricultural development.
He urged stakeholders to support the Federal Government’s coordinated national livestock development agenda, saying the initiative would improve agricultural productivity, create jobs and restore public confidence in the sector.
The minister acknowledged several challenges affecting the growth of Nigeria’s agrifood sector, including climate change, flooding, drought, land degradation and rising input costs.
He also identified animal diseases, post-harvest losses, weak market connections and limited access to finance as major challenges confronting producers and consumers.
“Our agrifood systems are under growing pressure from climate variability, flooding, drought, land degradation and rising input costs,” he said.
Maiha, however, said the challenges also presented opportunities to build more productive, inclusive and climate-resilient agricultural systems while creating decent employment opportunities, particularly for women and young people.
According to him, the livestock value chain offers significant investment opportunities in areas such as feed production, hatcheries and dairy collection.
He added that animal health services, storage, processing, logistics and waste-to-wealth businesses also had considerable potential that remained largely untapped.
Agriculture can tackle youth migration — UNIPORT VC
Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Prof. Princewill Chike, described agriculture as an important tool for addressing brain drain and youth migration.
Chike said the increasing migration of young Nigerians and other Africans was contributing to the loss of skilled manpower and slowing economic development.
He urged policymakers to make agriculture more attractive to young people as part of efforts to address the “Japa” trend.
“The government and policymakers must make agriculture more attractive to youths to address the ‘Japa’ syndrome,” he said.
The vice-chancellor also commended President Bola Tinubu’s administration for prioritising agriculture and called for consistency and sustainability in government agricultural policies.
Stakeholders seek stronger collaboration
The President and Conference Coordinator of APRNet, Prof. Anthony Onoja, called for stronger collaboration among government, researchers, private-sector players and other stakeholders to address food insecurity and unemployment.
Onoja, who lectures in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Management at UNIPORT, said the conference was designed to bridge the gap between academic research and practical policy solutions.
“This meeting is expected to provide sustainable solutions to low farm productivity, build resilience against rising climate issues and address conflict in the country,” he said.
The conference was supported by the Federal Government, the European Union and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, among other partners.
