New agric ministers pledge to ensure food security in Nigeria

The two new Ministers of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, and his counterpart, Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, Minister of State, Agriculture and Food Security, have assured that they would work relentlessly to ensure that Nigeria achieves food security during their tenure in office.

Kyari stated this on Monday at the headquarters of the Ministry in Abuja when they assumed office, shortly after the inauguration of the members of the Federal Executive Council by President Bola Tinubu.

Kyari pointed out that Nigeria would not only be food secure but would also ensure that the nation exports its agricultural produce to other countries.

Addressing the management and staff of the Ministry, Kyari said: “I will not bore you with a long speech, I am ready and willing to serve this nation.

“We all know the challenges we face now. Nigerians are hungry. We have the challenges of insecurity and flooding.

He, however, noted that though these challenges are huge and daunting, they are not insurmountable.

The stated that his biggest inspiration was the Renewed Hope Agenda of the present administration and the declaration of a state of emergency in the agricultural sector.

In his remarks, Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, Minister of State, Agriculture and Food Security, said the challenges in the sector would be overcome with the commitment and dedication of the management and staff of the ministry in collaboration with other critical stakeholders.

Also speaking, the Governor of Borno State, Dr. Babagana Zulum, tasked the new Ministers to work assiduously to ensure that Nigeria becomes food secure in the nearest future.

Zulum, who accompanied the two Ministers to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, maintained that the current palliatives being offered by the government cannot solve the problems of Nigerians, as they are short-term measures introduced by the government to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal.

As a matter of necessity, he said, Nigeria must look for long-term solutions to the myriads of challenges confronting the nation, adding that food insecurity must be addressed in the country through the deployment of commercial agriculture, modern agriculture, irrigated agriculture, and technology in the sector.

The governor, therefore, tasked the two new ministers and all critical stakeholders in the sector to work diligently to reposition the food industry to guarantee food security.