Stakeholders harp improved funding, data collection says way out of food insecurity
Chima Azubuike, Gombe
Stakeholders in Agriculture on Monday, identified improved and sustainable funding as the way out of Nigeria’s impending food crisis.
In his Presentation, on the Biennial Scorecard, Acting Chairman of the committee, Atiku Yahaya, said Africa as a continent has encountered a number of challenges ranging from high level of poverty, food insecurity, low Agricultural growth, Unemployment and Insecurity among others despite its natural resources and investments potentials.
Yahaya added that there must be strong commitment to enhancing Investment Finance in Agriculture, if the target of ending hunger in Africa by 2025 is to be achieved.
“Africa Agricultural Transformation remains the way forward for addressing some of thechallenges within a long and medium term plan.
“Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme was designed to ensure increase in public spending, accelerating growth, increase food security and eliminating poverty.
“Member States are expected to dedicate 10% of its annual national budget to agriculture and ensure annual growth rate of the sector by 6%.
“There must be commitment to Halving Poverty by the year 2025 through Inclusive Agricultural Growth and Transformation. Commitment to Boosting Intra-African Trade in Agricultural commodities and services as well as Commitment to enhancing resilience of Livelihoods and production systems to climate variability and other related risks,” Yahaya said.
He added that Nigeria’s score is 5.18 lower than the benchmarks of 6.66, stressing that is not on track to achieving the 7 percent Malabo commitments by 2025.
On her part, Secretary of Smallholder Women Farmers Gombe state chapter, Esther Gibson, while stating the content of the communiqué said there is need for Nigeria to improve data collection and management system.
She said, “One of the reasons for Nigeria’s low performance of Biennial Review include non-availability of time series data to effectively track performance; constraint of conducting National Agricultural Statistical Survey, inadequate budget provision, statistical capacity and ICT infrastructure and weak linkages and engagement with national stakeholders on sector performance assessment.
“To upscale the Country Stat project to all States of the Federation for the purpose of strengthening institutional capacity, data system and policy planning in the task of attaining SDGs in Nigeria.
“The expectation is to improve Nigeria’s national agriculture performance and rating in the 2021 Biennial Review exercise and subsequent ones by prioritizing deliverables, identifying data gaps and sources, and pinpointing project programming areas in the CAADP implementation process.”
Meanwhile, Executive Director, Hope Foundation for the Lonely, Mansa Adamu, said with the growing population in Nigeria a lot needs to be done to ensure they are adequately fed.
He said, “So we need to double up in terms of food production, our farmers whom are major producers of food needs to be supported with farm inputs. So there is urgent need to double up in Agricultural production so that we can stop the importation of food and be able to feed the large and increasing population of Gombe and indeed Nigeria.”
