Nigeria Will Meet 2015 Food Production Target — Akinwumi

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The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has assured that Nigeria was set to meet its food target by 2015.

The minister observed that ” for the first time in decades, there was today a strong political will to modernize and industrialize Nigeria’s agriculture sector.”

A statement from the ministry said the minister spoke at the World Food Prize Symposium and Borlaug Dialogue in the USA .

According to Akinwumi, ” the road map toward that vision for Africa is challenging. It is for Nigeria as well. But as Africa’s most populous country, and soon to be its largest economy, we are using the power of agriculture to create jobs, increase wealth, and promote private enterprise to ensure that growth is sustainable,” he stated.

Adding that in order “To unlock the combined potential of some of the fundamentals needed in the major transformation of Nigeria’s agriculture sector, the change has to be across the entire value chain – from field to mill to table.”

The minister reiterated the government focus which is to create eco-systems in which small, medium and large-scale farmers would not only co-exist, but also flourish together.

“We would do more than plant new fields. We would also create value-added foodstuffs from our staple crops through an aggressive import-substitution programme and policies that would encourage new investment in food production and promote agriculture sustainability and resilience,” he added.