Vice President, Kashim Shettima, has called for international aids to boost the nations agricultural production.
This is a backdrop of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FOA) projection of 26.5 million Nigerians facing food crisis in June and August 2024,
Shettima on Tuesday in Abuja during the launch of a groundbreaking agricultural initiative in Nigeria known as ‘Soil Values,’ said agriculture with a 24 per cent contribution to the nations GDP plays a pivotal role in the nation’s economy.
The Soil Values primarily aims to tackle soil fertility issues, foster sustainable agricultural development over the next decade, and uplift the livelihoods of 1.5 million small-scale food producers.
Shettima represented by his senior special adviser on Agribusiness and Productivity, Kingsley Uzoma, affirmed that, “Agriculture is a cornerstone of Nigeria’s economy, contributing significantly to our national GDP, but faces various constraints hindering its progress.
“Land degradation, erosion, and drought are exacerbating due to over-exploitation, deforestation, and overgrazing, particularly in the northern regions.”
Expressing enthusiasm to the advantage of the program while soliciting for support to tackle agricultural constraints, Shettima said, the country is truly committed to supporting the effective and sustainable implementation of the program in Nigeria.
“We also invite all the other countries included to put in place various mechanisms to facilitate the implementation of the Soil Values programme activities,” he said.
Also the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, pledged the county’s readiness to combat declining soil fertility.
The Chief Executive Officer the International Fertilizer Development Centre, (IFDC), Henk Duijn, highlighted the significance of long-term investment in soil health.
“Given the current situation of soil degradation in the Sahel, investment in soil health will take a long time to produce visible and tangible results.
“Governments and donors must prioritize funding for soil health initiatives that offer long-term benefits and creates significant leverage to collectively strengthen the implementation capabilities of local and international institutions and to create the largest impact from the investments made,” Duijn said.
