Lagos State Governor, Mr
Akinwunmi Ambode on Thursday
said that investors willing to do
business in the agric sector in the
State can be rest assured of a ready
market and returns on investment
as the daily consumption of food
items in the State is worth over
N3billion daily.
The Governor, who spoke at the
maiden edition of the Lagos Food
Security and Exhibition Summit with
the theme “Actualizing Sustainable
Food Security in Lagos State: A New,
Comprehensive Agenda’, said his
administration remains committed in
its efforts towards maximising its
comparative advantage in the sector
to achieve food security.
He said Nigeria had no business
resorting to importation to feed its
citizens, adding that there was no
alternative to achieving food security
other than tilling the land and
embrace best practices that will
improve efficiency in the agricultural
value chain.
The Governor said, “Our core policy
thrust towards achieving food
security is to maximize the
comparative advantage of the State in
agriculture and establish partnerships
with other States of the Federation
with comparative advantage in
specific areas.”
Listing some areas of collaboration
already activated, Governor Ambode
said his administration has sealed a
landmark partnership with Kebbi
State Government for the development
of agricultural commodities such as
rice, wheat, groundnut, onion, maize
and beef value chain, expressing
optimism that the partnership can
result in the supply of 70 per cent of
the total national rice consumption.
“We have also acquired agricultural
land in other neighbouring States of
Ogun and Oyo as well as Abuja.
Specifically, 500 hectares of farm land
has been acquired for rice cultivation
in Eggua, Ogun State, 84.7 hectares at
Okinni in Oshogbo for oil palm
processing, among others,” the
Governor said.
He said the Lagos Food Security
Summit and Exhibition was organized
to bring together stakeholders in the
Agricultural sector to proffer
solutions to the challenges militating
against the achievement of food
security, noting that the success
recorded in the last “Traffic Summit’
that has eased the traffic situation in
the metropolis can be replicated in
the area of food security in the state.
He therefore said that in the wake of
the economic challenges facing the
country there was no better time for
the nation to review its approach and
the redirection of its energies to food
production.
“Behind every dark cloud, they say, is
a silver lining. One of the challenges
the current economic recession has
brought to the fore is the urgent need
to develop a sustainable programme
that will guarantee food security for
our people. As a nation, in the past,
we spent billions of Foreign Exchange
on importation of food and food items
many of which can be cultivated in
our country.
“Our country is blessed with very
good arable land and a climate that
supports food production. We can
achieve food security and create
employment opportunities for our
teeming youth if we put in place the
right policies and incentives that will
attract significant investment into the
Agricultural sector,” he said.
Also, the Special Adviser to the
Governor on Food Security, Mr. Sanni
Ganiyu Okanlawon, noted that that
the summit was being organized to
institutionalize a food security
framework that would guarantee
sustainable food security for its
growing population.
He said the summit was designed to
realign emerging realities with new
global trends on food safety, food
processing, food storage, food
handling, funding of agribusiness and
agric insurance”, adding that it will
attract major stakeholders from the
Agricultural sector and academia,
foreign and local investors, media,
civil society and policymakers in
government.
Earlier, Chairman of the Summit,
Alhaji Sani Dangote, commended the
Governor Ambode-led administration
for leading being in the forefront in
addressing the challenge of food
security, saying that the State boasts
of a large population with an
economy ranked as the fifth largest in
Sub-Saharan Africa, a bulging youth
population and capital of the nation’s
industrial base.
He said despite the shortage of arable
land in the State, the State
Government can leverage on its
comparative advantages to not only
guarantee food security in the State,
but also feed the neighbouring South
West States.
He said the State has the capacity to
make agriculture a profitable
business, which according to him,
would encourage youths to take up
agriculture as a profession and
contribute their quota towards
achieving food security.
SIGNED
HABIB ARUNA
CHIEF PRESS SECRETARY
NOVEMBER, 10, 2016
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