New Minister of Agriculture Promises to Prioritize Food Security

New Minister of Agriculture Promises to Prioritize Food Security And Livestock Development.

The newly appointed Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Mohammed Mahmoud Abubakar, took over the ministry’s affairs recently. He said, he will work with the last administration’s policy on food security and livestock development.

Abubakar added: “Food safety is everything” during the handover ceremony for Alhaji Sabo Nanono, former minister of agriculture.

He said his team will formulate the necessary policy guidelines to reposition the agricultural sector as the backbone of the Nigerian economy.

He said: “Under my leadership, the ministry’s main task is to ensure that we provide the necessary guidance and motivation to formulate policies that truly position agriculture as the pillar of our economy, as set out in the National Medium Development Plan in support with the president’s 10 years vision to lift 100 million people out of poverty.

“In this sense, the livestock transformation plan will be a priority, because it not only concerns food security, but also affects the country’s security methods.”

Abubakar also pledged to strengthen the department’s research and extension services to promote best practices and translate into specific products in the agricultural and livestock value chain.

He called on Nigerians to be willing to buy products made in Nigeria, especially agricultural products. He said he will increase local production capacity and help export food.

He said: ‘We have to buy agricultural products. Only in this way can we support farmers: during the closing of the border we eat local rice.

“There’s no reason we can’t do this. We have the talent and everything we need to make Nigeria Africa’s biggest food producer and exporter.

“It is everyone’s responsibility to protect the environment, as well as agriculture. I hope to do more than the previous minister”.

Nanono had already thanked staff and management for their support during his tenure and urged them to support the new minister as well.

He said the ministry is still an agency with great responsibilities.

He said that priority should be given to solving the problems related to fertilizers, the confrontation between Fulani/herdsman and the creation of jobs.

He said: ‘If this sector is successful, we will have food security and stability in this country.

‘So if we focus on these priority areas, we will help our country achieve stability and ensure our country’s food security.

‘We stopped importing rice, I hope we can do the same for wheat, and I hope we can do the same for fish, corn and other crops, because that’s the job of the ministry.

“I retired, went back to my farm, and I will be a client of the ministry.”