Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has started a committee on food security, and told them to work with everyone to guarantee that people can afford food.
The group includes the governor as the leader; Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Oluwatoyosi Adebayo Thomas; Commissioner for Local Government, Community Development and Chieftaincy Affairs; state coordinator of the federal ministry of agriculture; NAGS-AP State Focal Person; representative of the River Basin Development Authority; representative of the State ADPs; representative of ICT Providers servicing the state; representatives of relevant commodity associations — AFAN, Maize Cassava, Soybean, rice; bank of agriculture; Nigeria Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending; and representative of the state traditional council and Etsu Tsaragi Alhaji Aliyu Kpotwa Abdullahi.
The group's job is to make plans and ideas to deal with food security issues and encourage sustainable farming practices, among other things.
In a statement on Tuesday by his spokesman, Rafiu Ajakaiye, the governor while starting the group said its members are responsible for making sure that every citizen in the state has access to safe, nutritious, and affordable food.
“As we start on this journey, we have to understand the challenges ahead. Climate change, population growth, and economic instability threaten to disrupt food production and access. Yet we must remain strong in our commitment to overcoming these obstacles. We’ll focus on supporting smallholder farmers, empowering rural communities, and using innovation and technology,” he said.
“I urge each committee member to approach their role with dedication and compassion. Our success will be measured not so much by the policies we formulate but by the tangible impact we have on the lives of our fellow citizens.
“Let us work together, drawing upon our collective expertise, network, and experience to develop solutions that address the root causes of food insecurity in our state.”
On her part, Adebayo-Thomas said the committee had its work cut out for it and would work round the clock to achieve the objective of making Kwara self-sufficient in food.
The Managing Director, Lower Niger RBDA, Dr. Adeniyi Aremu, said it was important for Nigeria to feed itself, asking the committee to remain committed to its terms of reference.
The Etsu Tsaragi also commended the governor for setting up the committee, calling for effective collaboration with all the commodities’ associations in the important task.
