NCA unveils sustainable food security strategic plans at C’River summit

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has rolled out strategic plans and ideas on agricultural development in the country to bolster greater yields and improved revenues for the benefit of smallholder farmers, as well as address crucial issues affecting the sector.

The agriculture sector stakeholders disclosed this during the kick-off of the 46th regular meeting of the National Council on Agricultural and Food Security, with the theme ‘Resilience to Climate Change Towards Sustainable Food Security,’ held on Monday, November 11, 2024, at the Calabar International Convention Centre, Calabar, Cross River State.

In his opening remarks; the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security; Temitope Fashedemi; said the agriculture sector is still identified and tasked as a springboard for national economic recovery, stabilization and growth.

He said “The 46th meeting of the National Council on Agriculture and Food Security is a platform for reviewing ongoing policies and programmes to ensure agricultural development in the nation. A take in this direction is to sustain our collaborations on agribusiness initiatives by providing incentives to researchers, farmers and processors, and therewith, increase agricultural output and match national requirements. This will encourage more individuals and institutions to invest in agriculture and create livelihoods for the populace.

“This process is to assess the effect of ongoing initiatives and fine-tune strategies for a meaningful impact on the economy. It is also to sustain the commodity value chain concept of strengthening sectoral linkages, import substitution initiatives, value-added processing and export-oriented activities.”

However, the ministry’s Director of Planning and Policy Coordination, Ibrahim Tanimu, said, “The platform provides us with the opportunity to share experiences and good practices on value chain development in the agricultural sector, as it affects food security and economic development for adoption and replication by all stakeholders in the sector along our various ecological peculiarities. It is, therefore, expected that we all continue to provide an enabling environment for value chain development across our respective States to engender food security in the country.”

In a welcome address, Cross River State Commissioner for Agriculture and Irrigation Development, Johnson Ebokpo, said that food security has been a core aspect of the Renewed Hope Agenda of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and is equally the basis for programmes and policies of state governments, especially the ‘People’s First Agenda’ of the governor of Cross River State, Senator Prince Bassey Edet Otu.

Ebokpo noted, “As we gather here today to embark on a crucial dialogue that will shape the agricultural sector and drive sustainable food security, it is paramount that we recognize the pressing global challenge of climate change and come up with a collective commitment that will build strong resilience to the many effects of climate change.”