Experts have advocated a review of the national food security structure to address an imminent possibility of food security crisis that may hit Nigeria as a result of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the agricultural sector.
A statement emailed by Media Manager, Akinlabi Hassan, on Tuesday said this was the summation of the perspectives of panelists on agricultural security at the National Conversation on Mapping Nigeria’s response to COVID-19.
The session with the theme ‘Safeguarding the Nation: Agricultural credit and national food security in an economic downturn’ drew participants from both the private and public sectors, the statement said.
In her opening remarks, the Head of Corporate Affairs and Communications Africa, Upfield Foods, Motola Oyebanjo, said conversations around improved food security and systems was a discussion that must be prioritized particularly now that the pandemic had impacted socioeconomic activities on a global scale.
She said, “Discussions around food systems during this pandemic is critical for both the private sector and public sector.
“It is important for the public sector because it requires a healthy and active populace to ensure that the economy runs smoothly.
“It is also important for businesses as the society must be thriving to ensure that products and services are profitable.”
Oyebanjo noted that there were great potential and possibilities for the food and agricultural sector in Nigeria during and post COVID-19.
“We must imagine a new reality, proffer innovative solutions and take decisive action to ensure we harness them,” she added.
Commenting on the need to have sufficient food reserves across the country, the Vice Chairman of Dangote Foods, Sani Dangote, agreed that food security was a reality that had shown up fully due to the current pandemic.
The Managing Director of the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending, Aliyu Abdulhameed, said the agency is working with the Central Bank of Nigeria to provide guarantees for farmers.
The Co-founder of Sahel Consulting, Ndidi Okonkwo-Nwuneli, said the country needed to think about how to strengthen SMEs because they were the bedrock of innovation in the ecosystem.
Source: Punch
