Food Security Crucial to Africa’s Future: Nigeria Sets the Pace – VP Shettima

Vice President Kashim Shettima has reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to developing sustainable and inclusive food systems.

He made this declaration at the 2nd UN Food Systems Summit Stocktake (UNFSS+4) in Addis Ababa.

Speaking on the second day of the summit, Shettima highlighted Nigeria’s efforts under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

He underscored the critical importance of collaborative action in achieving food security and transforming agriculture across the African continent.

Persecondnews reports that the Nigerian government has implemented various initiatives to support smallholder farmers, including farmers-friendly policies, targeted incentives, and empowerment programmes.

Shettima noted that these efforts are crucial to the country’s food security and agricultural transformation agenda.

“A broken food system in any part of the world diminishes the dignity of humanity as a whole. Let us rise with a shared purpose.

“Let us build a world where no child sleeps on an empty stomach, where no farmer is forgotten, and where food is not a luxury but a human right,” he said.

The Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit (PFSCU) has been established to drive national coordination and accountability in food security initiatives.

Nigeria is also leveraging modern technology, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), geospatial analytics, and satellite-driven climate intelligence, to enhance agricultural production and ensure food security.

These tools will monitor production, enhance transparency, connect producers to markets, and reduce waste across the value chain.

Furthermore, Nigeria has initiated the Green Legacy Programme, aiming to plant 20 billion trees, with a proposal to start with 10 billion trees.

Shettima expressed optimism about the program, citing Ethiopia’s success in planting 46 billion trees as an inspiration. The government has also partnered with the Dalberg Group and Campo Group to support the program’s objectives.

The Organisation of Southern Cooperation (OSC) has chosen Nigeria as the site to build its first-ever South-South Technology Transfer Centre for Africa.

The OSC Secretary General, Manssour Bin Mussallam, expressed gratitude to the Nigerian government for its visionary decision to become a founding member state of the OSC.

Shettima urged the OSC to look inward and come up with ingenious solutions to developmental challenges among its member states, noting that the South constitutes more than 70% of the global population.