Food Security: FG Inaugurates Agricultural Technical Committee

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has set up an Agricultural Technical Working Committee (ATWC) to achieve food security in the country.

The ministry stated that the move is also in line with Mr. President’s Renewed Hope Agenda in agriculture and food security, noting that the committee was established to support farmers with finance and increase local food production.

The Permanent Secretary, FMAFS, Mr. Temitope Peter Fashedemi, stated this during the inauguration of the committee in Abuja.

Fashedemi pointed out that the committee was saddled with the responsibility amongst others to see to the reduction of food prices and end hunger in the country.

The committee members were drawn from different departments and agencies under the ministry with the permanent secretary as chairman and the managing director of Nigeria Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), as vice chairman.

The permanent secretary charged the committee to see the task as clarion call to national duty and deploy their vast experiences.

Similarly, there were deliberations and contributions by members as to how to chart a course and achieve success at the end of the day.

The Managing Director, African Development Bank, (AfDB), Prof. Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, and his team, who came on a courtesy visit stated that the purpose of their visit was to fast track the implementation of Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ), which started in April 2019 in Nigeria.

He added that the programme’s goal was to increase household incomes, foster job creation in rural agricultural communities, especially for youth and women, and enhance food nutrition security.