NSE, Ministry of Agric partner on food security

The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) on Friday sought partnership with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to harness opportunities to boost food security.Sen. Abubakar Kyari, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, disclosed this when the NSE President, Mrs Margaret Oguntala, led a delegation to visit the Minister, in Abuja.Kyari said that the Ministry was elated to partner NSE as the country's frontline professional body on initiatives to boost food security in Nigeria.'NSE is a blue-chip society with huge knowledge resources and the ministry will leverage on their capacity to deliver on government set goals on food security.'The effort at developing sustainable solutions for Nigeria's food systems is a priority area for the President Bola Tinubu's administration.'Nigeria has faced challenges in food production for far too long due to the difficulty that families are facing,' he said.Kyari emphasised that some occurrences like the pandemic, perennial flooding, insecurity and the currency redesign which stiffened money circulation, forced food production to nose dive.'A new strategy is required to reverse this trend. That is why on assumption of office, President Tinubu declared a state of emergency on food security,' he saidThe minister, however, said that a partnership with NSE would help in exploring the initiatives presented to him by NSE to boost food production.According to the NSE president, food security is essential for growth, poverty reduction, and human well-being.Oguntala stated that the entire idea required pragmatic and proactive measures, hence the need for both NSE and the ministry to work together to address the challenges.She reiterated her organisation's commitment to supporting food security initiatives in the country and the ministry to deliver on its mandate to increase food production.'NSE has thrown its weight behind the ministry for the quick realisation of the initiative in the interest of all citizens.'NSE is also determined to join fo rces with both the ministry and other private organisations on the effort in developing sustainable solutions for Nigeria's food systems.'Oguntala informed the Minister of the society's upcoming 2024 International Engineering Conference, Exhibition and Annual General Meeting with the theme, 'Sustainable Engineering Solutions to Food Security and Climate Change'.She said the theme was carefully chosen to align with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu and the determination of his administration to ensure food security in the country.Oguntala added that NSE would like to partner the ministry on some of its programmes like the Agriculture Entrepreneurial Development.She listed other strategic agenda to include: Entrepreneurship Development designed to enhance the agricultural sector's productivity and innovation.Source: News Agency of Nigeria