The Federal Government of Nigeria has reiterated its commitment to ensure food security in the country.
Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, stated this when Gov. Dikko Radda of Katsina State paid him a courtesy call on Tuesday, January 9, 2024, in Abuja.
He said that Katsina State remained one of the frontline states in the quest to achieve President Bola Tinubu’s food security agenda through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
“There is no gainsaying that we are out to achieve Mr President’s agenda of food security, poverty reduction and job creation,” he said.
Kyari said that the ministry was also committed to achieving the Federal Government’s plan to cultivate 500,000 hectares of arable lands to ensure food security.
“Like I mentioned before, we have to collaborate with the states and local governments to come up with genuine and verifiable farmers list.
“This is very important because we have to know who the real farmers are, and by so doing we have to collaborate with the local authorities.
“This is so they can buy into our programmes, and so we can succeed in what we set out to do,” he said.
Earlier, Gov. Radda disclosed that insecurity affecting food production and security of lives and property had been reduced by 70 per cent in Katsina.
Radda said that without adequately tackling insecurity, there couldn’t be food production due to the activities of criminal elements in the state.
He said that these criminal elements had previously made it very tough for farmers to access their farms.
The governor said that plans were underway to revive the livestock industry in the state.
“We want to revive the livestock industry, and we want to create a livestock centre in Katsina, which will encompass everything from fattening and pasture development to artificial insemination centres.
“It will also include meat processing and cooling chains, use of cargo terminal in the state in agreement with neighbouring countries to export meat products.
“We want to process cow meat and take it to Lagos, and that is a huge investment; we are looking for a lot of partners who are interested in this initiative.
“Katsina is also the highest producer of maize in this country.
“The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security should give Katsina a priority in maize production, just as Jigawa was given priority in wheat production,” Radda said.
By Doris Esa
