Vice-President Kashim Shettima has emphasised the need for diversification from crop production to livestock and fishery, especially in the South-South and South East.
Shettima said this during the second meeting of the Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit (PFSCU), held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Newsspecng.com reports that PFSCU was constituted by the President Bola Tinubu’s administration to tackle hunger and hardship in Nigeria.
Shettima implored PFSCU to walk the talk in the ongoing bid to ensure food security in the country, saying that Nigerians are only keen on results rather than rhetoric.
He also asked the PFSCU to go beyond crop production and embrace other areas of agriculture, including livestock and fishery.
“There is a need for diversity. Livestock and fishery are areas that I want you to look into, especially when it comes to the South-South and the South East.”
He observed that while there have been many presidential initiatives, the challenge had always been implementation.
He said that the PFSCU was in a vantage position to catalyse the nation’s food security challenges into progress.
Shettima urged the unit to move beyond rural farming and initiate urban agriculture the way it was done in countries like Cuba and other advanced nations.
” We have to walk the talk. I will be in Calabar, and we will go to northern Cross River to inaugurate the wet season farming.
” Nigerians want to see what we are doing. And Hon. Minister, I want you to robustly engage the private sector. I want the Minister of Agriculture to drive the process.
“So, let’s walk the talk. This presidential initiative is a very beautiful one, but we have had a lot of presidential initiatives from time immemorial.
” It’s the implementation that counts, and we are in a unique position to catalyse our challenges into progress, Shettima said.
He expressed hope that the PFSCU would provide food security in the country.
Shettima said the unit boasts of some of the leading lights in the nation’s private sector, whose experience, exposure and contacts must be harnessed to drive the process.
He charged the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, to come up with solutions to issues of access to loans from credit guarantee schemes.
The Vice-President pointed out that the entire agriculture sector deserves support, including the big players.
Earlier, Gov. Babagana Zulum of Borno called for a fundamental shift in the country’s approach to food security.
He also emphasised the need for better coordination between federal and state governments and highlighted critical gaps in the current agricultural framework.
” There is a very wrong perception in Nigeria about food security – it’s not just about food quantity but also quality.
” A nation will not be secure if the quality of food is not good. What we are facing now is not just about quantum but also about quality of food products,” Zulum stated.
The governor stressed the importance of fisheries and livestock sectors, calling them “a missing link” in current agricultural policies.
“There is a need for you to have a synergy with the state governments – we have a lot of capacity at the state level,” he emphasised.
Also, Gov. Bassey Otu of Cross River State, noted that the state was already taking decisive action to ensure food security.
“Our target is to feed the nation. Give us two more years, it’s going to be something else in Cross River,” he said.
On his part, Gov. Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti state, focused on implementation challenges, calling for immediate action.
“Agriculture is time-bound, and we need to get to the field to implement these plans immediately.”
Similarly, Gov., Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi state, advocated practical demonstration over theoretical discussion in tackling food insecurity.
“Agricultural doesn’t need so much talking shops. All it needs is practicality. When they (youths) start seeing us, the big men, in our farms, they will be more willing to join us,” Nwifuru stated.
Also, Edun, stressed the need for a financing programme to assist farmers and other stakeholders.
“We should sit and fashion out a financing programme. We have the Bank of Agriculture and the Bank of Industry,” Edun noted.
For his part, The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, highlighted the challenge of agricultural produce being smuggled out of the country.
According to him, the situation negatively impacts the local supply.
He assured that the government was actively working to address this issue.
In her presentation, Marion Moon, the Technical Assistant to the President on Agriculture (Office of the Vice-President), said the PFSCU was working towards mitigating and stabilising symptoms of the food crisis in Nigeria.
” We are doing that; we want to start addressing the underlying issue. Our long-term vision and plan are to strengthen Nigeria’s comparative advantage.”
