In order to restore sustainable and all-inclusive food systems in Africa, Vice President Kashim Shettima has appealed to allies worldwide.
True national sovereignty is incomplete without food sovereignty, Shettima said in a panel discussion on country perspectives: government-led strategies and regional frameworks at the UN Food Systems Summit + 4 (UNFSS+4) in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia.
According to him, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has developed a comprehensive plan to address issues relating to food security, which are primarily affecting underprivileged people in conflict-affected areas.
The Vice President stated that Tinubu’s bold national strategy, which included the implementation of systemic reforms and the declaration of a state of emergency for food security, was intended to transform agriculture into a resilient, youth-driven, market-based engine of economic growth.
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“We want to have food sovereignty,” we say. The VP was quoted as saying in a statement by his media aide, Stanley Nkwocha, that a country must remain a non-sovereign nation as long as it does not have sovereignty over food.
He recalled that Tinubu’s administration had a fragile food system that had been exacerbated by insecurity, climate shocks, and inflationary pressures when he took office in 2023.
Not out of fear, but out of genuine concern for the well-being of our people, particularly in conflict-ridden regions like the North East, where Boko Haram was stooping seeds of discord and destruction, said His Excellency President Tinubu.
He added that the government had implemented coordinated policy initiatives, including the creation of the Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit (PFSCU) to harmonise all food security initiatives, with 25 million vulnerable people spread across fragile regions.
In addition, we have implemented food-stuffing plans in the North East and North West, he added. However, we don’t think giving back is the answer. We say that a man is fed for a day when we give him a fish in Africa. You give him the skills to fish for the rest of his life if you teach him. We promote food production in our displaced people’s camps in an effort to foster dignity and resilience.
The Vice President added that entrepreneurship and innovation must be the driving force behind Nigeria’s agricultural transformation plan.
“Increasing yields is the whole mantra,” The typical Nigerian has an innate understanding of entrepreneurial capitalism, he continued.
He claimed that the government was funding climate-resilient farming, improved seeds, extension services, and mechanization to accomplish this.
Source: Channels TV
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