The two new Ministers of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, and his counterpart, Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, Minister of State, have said Nigeria has what it takes to feed its citizens and promised to put in their best help the nation achieve food security in the shortest possible time.
Addressing the management and staff of the ministry on Monday on arrival to assume duty, Kyari said that Nigeria would not only be food secure under his watch, but would also ensure that the nation exports its agricultural produce to other countries.
According to him, “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. We will address these challenges because they are fundamental to our achieving food security.”
He said though these challenges are huge and daunting, they are not insurmountable.
The minister 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, the Minister of State, Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, 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.
The Governor of Borno State, Dr. Babagana Zulum, who accompanied the ministers to the ministry, tasked them to work assiduously to ensure that Nigeria becomes food secure in the nearest future.
The Governor 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.