By Adeleye Kunle
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT has warned that the current increase in food prices across the country will push more Nigerians into poverty unless appropriate measures are taken.
Dr. Mohammad Abubakar, Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, expressed this concern in Abuja at a national workshop on the applications of Juncao technology and its contribution to the achievement of sustainable agriculture and the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs.
The African Union Development Agency-New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD) organized the workshop, which was supported by the National Engineering Research Center for Juncao Technology of China’s Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University (FAFU) and Nigeria’s Ministry of Agriculture.
However, the Agriculture Minister stated that the rise in food prices was not unique to Nigeria and was caused primarily by climate change.
Climate change, he explained, had a negative impact on agricultural production and was likely to pose serious threats to food security in the future.
The minister, who was represented by the Director of the Federal Department of Agriculture, Abdullahi Abubakar, stated: “Food may become more expensive as climate change mitigation efforts raise energy prices.”
“Due to increased crop water use and drought, water required for food production may become more scarce.” Land competition may intensify as certain areas become climatically unsuitable for production.
“In addition, extreme weather events linked to climate change may cause abrupt decreases in agricultural productivity, resulting in rapid price increases.”
“These rising prices may force an increasing number of locals into poverty, providing a sobering demonstration of how climate change can lead to food insecurity.”
Abubakar observed that the Juncao technology had the potential to support the government’s efforts to make the best use of vast agricultural resources in order to achieve the SDGs’ charter goal of sustainable livelihood.
“In recent times, holistic efforts have been made to address these multifaceted challenges and unlock the potentials of the Nation’s livestock resources for increased employment opportunity, improved livelihoods, and income, and we eagerly await the potential leverages the Juncao technology will provide to bolster these efforts,” he added.
He also maintained that Nigeria was diversifying away from its reliance on oil and toward agriculture for sustenance, income generation, and foreign exchange earnings.
Gloria Akobundu, National Coordinator/Chief Executive Officer AUDA-NEPAD Nigeria, stated in her remarks that Nigeria must leverage the agricultural sector’s untapped potential to address the challenge of food insecurity.
She stated that, despite the government’s efforts to alleviate poverty in the country, there was a real risk of communities being exposed to insecurity, youth restiveness, and malnutrition due to the country’s population of more than 200 million people.
Nonetheless, Akobundu stated that deliberate measures were being put in place to prevent such occurrences.
“In my opinion, one way to do so is to domesticate Juncao technology in Nigeria because it will create direct and indirect jobs, promote Agro Business, improve nutrition, reduce youth restiveness, and increase security because youths will be gainfully engaged.”
“We are concerned with ensuring food security and mitigating the impact of COVID-19 in order to build long-term resilience for long-term economic growth and development.” “The Agency’s innovative strengthening of smallholder farmers’ capabilities toward productive land restoration in the face of COVID-19 was initiated to mitigate the pandemic’s negative impact,” she added.
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