By Michael Agbaji
The Chairman Senate Committee on Agriculture,Sen Salihu Mustapha says, the senate is committed for any legislative support to enhance Food security in Nigeria. Sen.Salihu Mustapha stated these on Thursday during the meeting with Senate committee on Agriculture and Officials of Ministry of Agriculture , Food Security and some heads of agencies under the ministry.
According to Mustapha, over the years, the senate had made several remarkable interventions and passed several laws to improve agricultural production and food security.
He further said, a lot needed to be done to achieve the goals of revamping agriculture in Nigeria within shortest time because of global food crisis as a result of insecurity.
The committee would continue to collaborate with the ministry and all stakeholders to promote economy diversification he says”. ccording to him,senate would collaborate with the ministry to boost local food production with improved innovations to produce more food for local population and increase foreign exchange earnings and export the surpluses.
He said,agriculture is one of the agency of government if the opportunity is utilized,it create employment for unemployment youths in Nigeria.
He says, the senate will push for implementation of the Maputo declaration to raise the budget for the agriculture sector to at least 10 per cent of the national budget from the current abysmal 1.96 per cent.T The Minister for Agriculture and Food Security Sen. Abubakar Kyari, responding said the ministry was committed to ensuring the realisation of the agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
He says the six of the president’s agenda were agricultural related issue, said modern agriculture was dependent on mechanisation, technology and innovations, saying that Nigerian’s population was increasing and needed to move very smartly to achieve food security.
The minister identified conflict, climate change,lack of inclusion of small holders farmers, mechanisation among others as some challenges bedeviling agriculture in Nigeria.
According to him, government deeply committed to improving agriculture and ensure food security in line with agenda of Tinubu.
“When we came in, already the wet season farming has gone far, and it was at the point of harvesting.
He told the committee that government has secure land dry season farming and in the dry season farming we have programmes that we have to cultivate 250,000 hectares of wheat, rice maize and cassava,and the total package he says, will be done with the cooperation of the subnational, the states and the local government councils.
“For now, the dry season farming, we have a programme that is spearheaded and funded by the African Development Bank,where we intend to cultivate up to 70 ,000 to 100,000 hectares or even more,” he said.
