The Federal Government says it has set up Agriculture and Water Resources Joint Action Committee to harness the resources of both ministries in addressing the challenges of food security and inflation.
The Minister of State for Agriculture, Sen. Aliyu Abdullahi, disclosed this at the National Youth Convention on Thursday in Abuja.
The convention was organised by the Nigerian Women for Agricultural Progressive and Development Initiative.
Abdullahi said the initiative was geared towards advancing the food security agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
He said the ministry had commenced dry-seeding farming as the country would not be able to feed its more than 200 million people if it solely depended on a six-month rainy season for agriculture.
The partnership, according to him, is purposely to encourage all-year-round farming.
He said that the country was blessed with abundant water resources and so many river-basin development authorities that should be harnessed for all-year-round farming to ensure food security and self-sufficiency.
“We have approved Agriculture and Water Resource Joint Action Committee, which will be looking at food security to enable us to take on dry-season farming in most of the river basins.
“Our plan is to see how both ministries can collaborate with the River Basin Development Authorities, integrating agricultural experts to enhance farmer livelihoods, increase production, and incentivise youth and private sector participation.
“The Ministry of Water Resources brings valuable assets, including water resources, land, and technical expertise, to the partnership; together, we aim to synergise our efforts, which provide seeds, inputs, and farm machinery essential for food production.
“Currently, we are working with all the farmers in those areas and also working to make sure we remove the things that are constraining the farmers from utilise the opportunity in those areas.
“This will enable us to maximised the benefit of these God-given resources,” he said.
The minister confirmed recent flooding in some states of the federation and identified the menace as part of the challenges of climate change.
According to him, the ministry’s response is to ensure that dry-season farming comes to stay because, during the dry season, one can control the water, what one is planting, and how one plants.
The minister said the Renewed Hope Agenda of the president was focussing on the future, adding that the future rightly belonged to the young generation.
NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA
