Food System Policy, Planning Our Major Focus To Raise Local Production – Olusanya
Abisola Olusanya, Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture has said that food system policy and planning have been Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration’s major focus to raise local food production.
She stated this on Wednesday while addressing newsmen at the Conference Room of the Ministry of Agriculture on the activities lined up to mark this year’s World Food Day.
Olusanya said that the focus is evidenced by the launch of the 5-year Agricultural and Food Systems Road Map in 2021 by the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu to create the pathway for the achievement of 40 per cent self-sufficiency in food production by 2025 against the present 20 per cent food production level.
She said the Road Map highlights policies to encourage youth participation, stimulate private sector investments, attract donor Agency funding for agricultural projects and create new partnerships along the various agricultural value chains, especially where the State has competitive and comparative advantages.
Some of the programmes and initiatives undertaking by the State through the Ministry of Agriculture to raise local food production according to her include; Lagos CARES which is the State’s version of the Nigeria Covid-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) Program, which is being implemented nationwide as a multipronged intervention to restore livelihoods and businesses following disruptions caused by Covid-19 pandemic and its concomitant lockdown.
She also mentioned the 32 metric tonnes per hour rice mill in Imota which is part of the government’s commitment to ensuring food security in the State, among several others.
She said that the state also wants to use this year’s celebration to raise awareness of the significance of a healthy and sustainable lifestyle among the farming population and Lagosians in general.
The Commissioner said that this year’s World Food Day comes up in the midst of serious food security issues occasioned by the effect of COVID-19 Pandemic, climate change, environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity, violent conflicts across the globe principally the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine and locally, the insurgency and security in the food production regions of the country.
“This myriad of challenges has severely impacted global food supply which calls for intensified efforts geared towards building more sustainable food systems to scale up food production, prevent and reduce food wastes, provide decent livelihood opportunities for rural, peri-urban and urban producers, promote sustainable ways of food production, processing and marketing, and ensure food and nutrition security for all consumers and value chain actors, without leaving no one behind.
Activities lined up for the world food day according to her include a road walk and sensitisation by the ministry of agriculture, collaborators and invitees on Thursday, October 6, from Olowu Junction in Ikeja to the House of Assembly and then to the Secretariat, Alausa.
On Tuesday, October 11 there will be a Farmers’ Forum, an interactive forum between the ministry of agriculture, farmers and other stakeholders at the Igando-Ikotun LCDA, Schools’ agric quiz competition for students in the state public secondary school will hold on Wednesday 12 at the Adeyemi Bero auditorium.
Ofada day symposium for the promotion of local varieties of rice will take place on Thursday, October 13 while the grand finale will be held on October 16 at the Nigeria Police College Ikeja, while there will also be the launch of Eko-Mechanisation at the training Institute Araga on Tuesday, October 18.
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