By Asmau Ahmad
The Federal Government of Nigeria has inaugurated the National Steering Committee for Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Hand in Hand Initiative (HiH) in Nigeria to eliminate poverty and hunger.
Speaking at the inauguration, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Mohammad Abubakar said the initiative was a means to eliminate inequalities along the relevant global development goals.
The minister said said the HiH was evidence-based country-owned and country-driven.
“The programme is meant to practically facilitate and support the implementation of the framework of the National Agricultural Technology and Innovation Policy (NATIP 2022-2027).
“This is towards accelerating food systems transformation, promoting rapid rural development and building vulnerable population resilience across the country,” he said.
Abubakar said the initiative takes cognizance of the country’s economic advantaged and disadvantaged areas in selecting the priority commodities for intervention in selected States.
“The initiative is well aligned with the FAO Country Programme Framework 2018-2022 for Nigeria as well as the successor framework for 2023-2027.
“The focus is to manage natural resources, reduce disaster risk, strengthen food security and enable economic diversification,” he said.
The minister said the programmme plan captured priority commodities like rice, sorghum, soybean, maize, fish, tomato, cassava and dairy.
“The selection of states for the intervention was based on their potentials for import substitution, export promotion, comparative advantage, social inclusion and demand gap (national, continental and global),” he said.
In a remark, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr Ernest Umakhihe, said the contribution FAO to the development of Agriculture in the country could not be overemphasised.
He said the inauguration came at a time the ministry was strengthening collaboration and partnership between government agencies and development partners for sustainable agri-food system in the country.
The permanent secretary was represented by Mr Daniel Udo Director, Federal Department of Rural Development.
Earlier, the FAO representative in Nigeria, Fred Kafeero, said the HiH initiative was a response to acceleration of attaining SDGs, particularly zero hunger and reduction of inequality.
He said the initiative would also promote responsible investment in sustainable agriculture and rural transformation.
Kafeero says the HiH is targeted at the most vulnerable and deprived and ” leaving no one behind”.
He said the next step would be the constitution of a Technical Task Team committee at the ministry of Water Resources from December to January 2023 among other steps.
Governor Babagana Zulumn of Borno State commended the ministry of Agriculture and the FAO for coming up with the committee and the initiative.
The terms of reference for the committee are, to provide overall political leadership, strategic direction and guidance for the implementation of HiH initiative in Nigeria in line with national priorities.
It will also be responsible for providing oversight for the implementation of the HiH initiative in Nigeria.
The committee will also receive periodic progress reports on the implementation of HiH from the Technical Task Team and FAO HiH countries among others.
