Federal Government of Nigeria, food imports are expected to rise alarmingly by more than 80% in December 2023
Jerrymusa.com reports that at the National Policy Dialogue on Thursday in Abuja, Dr. Kingsley Uzoma, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agribusinesses and Productivity Enhancement (SSAP), revealed this.
“Deepening Partnership for Scaling-Up of Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) for Smallholder Farmers in Nigeria” is the title of the policy conversation.
The Federal Government, the National Information and Technology Development Agency (NITDA), and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) coordinated the event.
According to him, there were 88.5 million Nigerians who did not consume enough food, and by December, that number was expected to rise by six million.
According to Uzoma, the federal government is devoted to stopping the current trend.
The country’s increasing reliance on food imports led the senior special assistant to identify a reduction in agricultural capacity as a major contributing factor.
He noted that 70% of the population lived below the poverty line and that food inflation was 31.52% in October. The nation also has the highest percentage of stunted children in the world.
“The challenges facing the domestic food landscape are made more intense by this growing reliance on outside sources, which is why the President has declared a state of emergency regarding food security.”
The Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP), Livelihood Improvement, and Family Enterprises Project for the Niger Delta (LIFE-ND), among other IFAD-financed initiatives, seek to increase food security and incomes by incorporating ICT4D and sustainable practices.
“To help farmers, these projects use instruments like the Agriculture Market Information System (AIMS) and Mini-Weather Station (Nimet).
“Yet there are still issues with infrastructure, technical support, gender equality, and data access,” he stated.
In order to guarantee that smallholder farmers utilise technology more frequently, he pointed out that the government and the business sector must collaborate and make consistent efforts to increase digital literacy.
According to Uzoma, these initiatives could lead to enhanced trade competitiveness, increased productivity, significant technological upscaling, best practice promotion, and market access.
A key double approach, according to the presidential adviser, is to drive low-technology while simultaneously constructing critical technology-enabling infrastructure in collaboration with mobile network providers and the Universal Service Provision Fund.
solutions to improve accessibility, such as WhatsApp and USSD.
“To further leverage technology for the advancement of the agricultural sector, increased collaboration with the NITDA and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security is necessary for the implementation of the National Digital Agriculture Strategy.”
“These were in line with the vice president’s office’s mandate, which is to guarantee revolutionary transformation in Nigeria’s agriculture sector through a multidimensional strategy based on innovation and technology.
Additionally, it aims to replace high-value imports of wheat worth 22 billion dollars with sustainable agriculture practices that will support environmental preservation and lessen climate change.
The mandate, he added, “seeks to address and minimise farmer/herder crises while simultaneously creating two million direct and six million indirect jobs with an emphasis on youth and women.”
She claims that the answers will improve their standard of living and support job development, economic growth, poverty alleviation, nutrition, and food security.