The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, has announced the ministry’s intention to partner with the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and Anhui Huayun Biotech Co. Ltd to address issues related to food and nutrition security and post-harvest losses.
This collaboration was discussed during a recent courtesy visit by the country director of GAIN, Dr. Micheal Ojo to the minister’s office in Abuja.
Kyari emphasised the importance of food security, which is one of the key priorities of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, focusing on agriculture, food security and good nutrition.
“We were given the mandate to ensure that the country is food-secured and we are ready to collaborate with partners to ensure its actualisation and sustainability,” said the minister.
He highlighted the current threats to food security, such as issues of availability and affordability, malnutrition, and rising food prices. Kyari stressed the need for continuous efforts to increase food production and make food available, accessible, affordable and nutritionally adequate on a sustainable basis.
The minister called for innovative solutions to address these underlying challenges and invited GAIN to participate in the upcoming agricultural summit. He also requested that GAIN’s document be included in the ministry’s records, emphasising that it should be a practical and sustainable document for the benefit of the Nigerian population.
Ojo expressed the organisation’s commitment to its partnership with the ministry and the importance of ensuring food and nutrition security in Nigeria. He pointed out that over 90 per cent of the population cannot afford a healthy diet, leading to malnutrition and loss of lives.
GAIN’s objective is to deliver healthy diets to over 25 per cent of the global population, including Nigeria. The organisation intends to collaborate with the Ministry in the development of food value chains, focusing on commodities like maize, rice, cassava and more.
In a related development, the minister also welcomed a delegation from Anhui Huayun Biotech Co. Ltd, led by its managing director, Mr. Wang Yun. Yun pledged support to Nigeria in the areas of agricultural mechanisation and irrigation systems, including solar pumps, to address the challenges of food insecurity in the country.
