Declare State Of Emergency In Agric Sector – Stakeholders Charge FG

• Harp on robust policies, programmes for job and wealth creation

BY UBON EKANEM, CALABAR – The Federal Government has been challenged to declare state of emergency in the nation’s agriculture sector as part of efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change on food production.

According to the stakeholders, revolutionising the sector will position Nigeria on a strong footing to not only combat issues around Global warming but also achieve self sufficiency in food production

This is the position canvassed at the 46th session of the National Council on Agriculture and Food Security (NCAFS) holding in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.

Addressing participants at the conference which has the theme “Resilience To Climate Change Towards Sustainable Food Security”, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Mr Temitope Fashedemi said sustainable approach is required to combat the effects of climate change on food security, especially in relations to perennial flooding, erosion and insecurity in the country.

Mr Fashedemi, who identified notable shift in weather conditions as a critical factor in food production value chain, said it is imperative for various stakeholders in the food production sector to synergize with the sole aim of ensuring that Nigeria achieve food security.

He said the meeting is a platform for reviewing ongoing policies and programs geared towards agricultural development in the country, adding that as a gathering of stakeholders, it will also assess the effect of ongoing initiatives and fine-tune strategies for a meaningful impact on the economy as well as explore best approaches to sustaining food security, job and wealth creation

Harping on the need for concerted efforts from all relevant players in the agric sector, Fashedemi assured of the federal government’s commitment toward ensuring food sufficiency through creating the required favourable environmental conditions that guarantee successful implementation of policies put in place to revamp the agricultural sector in line with international best practices.

He lauded the Cross River State government for hosting the Session, even as he acknowledged that the State is richly endowed in agro-allied resources, which effectively harnessed with the right approach, can become the pathway to achieving food security nationwide.

In his welcome remarks, the State Commissioner for Agriculture and Irrigation, Mr Johnson Ebokpo said the Agricultural sector cannot be ignored given its huge potential as the springboard for national economic recovery, stabilization and growth.

He said with food security being core aspect of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda as well as the Peoples First agenda of Governor Bassey Otu, the initiation of programmes and policies are geared towards agricultural sustainability in the country.

The Commissioner listed several steps by the State government to boost agricultural development to include the successful completion of a digital soil mapping of all the 18 local government areas, stressing that the measure aims at identifying the type of crops suitable food for planting in line with the weather conditions applicable across the state.

Ebokpo also said the government has put in place robust agricultural policies that are investors’ friendly and sustainable.

In their goodwill messages, some development partners described the meeting as an opportunity to share experiences on successful agri-businesses while constantly working to create and maintain an enabling environment to actualize Nigeria’s agricultural potentials, especially in relation to engaging individuals and groups in productive ventures.

Importantly, the stakeholders maintained that priority attention must be on tackling pressing global challenge of climate change and proffering immediate and long term solutions while generally demonstrating commitment to combat its effects on the global stage.