Food Sufficiency: Africa Can’t Survive Without Nigeria – Federal Government Boasts

The Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, has claimed that most African countries cannot survive without the contribution of Nigeria in terms of food sufficiency.

Senator Heineken Lokpobiri said this in a statement signed by his Director of Media, George Oji, Lokpobiri, when the Regional Director of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Lisandro Martins, visited him recently, in Abuja. The statement reads:

“Whatever we do here essentially feeds the whole of West Africa. The seeds we produce here essentially services the whole of West Africa, the grains we produce here services the whole of West Africa.

“Whatever happens here affects the whole of West Africa. So, whatever support you are giving to Nigeria is essentially the support given to the whole of West Africa.”

The minister said that the government would judiciously utilize funds donated by the agency. He continued:

“As a government, we will give priority to our partnership, whatever is needed to be done on the part of the government, we will endeavour to do,” the minister assured.

Martin said the agency would deploy more staff to Nigeria soon, to increase food sufficiency.

“We are working with our team to bring additional staff to Nigeria because this is clearly a country that is almost like a continent, where we realise the capacity we have at the moment is not sufficient,” he noted.