PRESS RELEASE - FG UNVEILS STRATEGY TO TACKLE NUTRITION AND BOOST ECONOMY-LOKPOBIRI

Senator Heineken Lokpobiri

The FG has again expressed determination to ensure that agriculture and food system support access to nutritious foods at every stage of human life from the pregnant mother to the unborn child and also from birth to the elderly.

This commitment was expressed by the Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri during a high level Round table on Scaling up food system intervention for nutrition through public-private partnership ; strategy and implementation hosted by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD ) and the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition in Abuja.

The Minister said that nutrition is not about just feeding people, its about fueling growth- the growth of individuals, communities and entire nation. The food value chain he says starts from the farm and the farmer and ends up at the table of every livelihood. Nutrition for us in Agriculture is a most crucial issue to address, since the food both infants, children, youths, the elderly, the sick the healthy, the rich the poor, the educated and the uneducated eat determine their cognitive development which in turn measures the level of our productivity and of course the economic growth.

Lokpobiri said he was  happy that FMARD has formulated this ten year plan from 2016-2025 upon which successive governments can build on and improve upon. He further encouraged every home to grow their own vegetables which he advanced contains a lot more nutrient while also advising Nigerians to assist in the  implementation of Government policies to their advantage, he hoped the Ministry shall shortly create a Department of Nutrition headed by a professional Food  Nutritionist.

Another speaker at the`Round table was Prof. Sandy Thomas, Director of Global Panel, in her paper she opined that nutrition is a new global priority reflected in the UN designated Decade of Action on Nutrition.   She said the for sight report of the global panel on agriculture and food systems for nutrition shows the scale of crisis and that more than three billion people around the world , Nigeria inclusive are currently affected by malnutrition as a direct impact of low quality diets - results in diseases such as obesity, overweight, underweight, the end result is Type -2 diabetes , cardiovascular diseases and certain form of cancer.

Also, the Deputy Governor of Kano state, Prof. Abubakar Hafix, who is also a food security and nutrition specialist, a speaker at the round table suggested that there should be as a matter of urgency a synergy and effective collaboration among all relevant tiers of government from the Federal, the state and the Local government level and also the Ministries, Departments and Agencies to ensure theta sustainable agriculture is built on the right commodity going through the value chain from the farm to the table and of course the stomach, that is from the production level in the farm to the processing and packaging stage and then to the market which requires funding. A complete value chain will ensure food security and nutrition.

Other delegates included members of the organised  private sector among est whom was Alhaji Sanni Dangote, the President of the Nigerian Agribusiness Group,he manumitted that governments action here is to provide the ready environment to implement relevant policies that will improve nutritious that will in turn  enhance a healthier population, a more productive local and international economy for Nigeria.

Lere-Adams, A.B. ( Mrs).

Deoputy Director. ( information).

FMARD.

For; Director Information.