Lokpobiri Decries Herdsmen/Farmers Crisis, Says FG Committed to Zero Hunger by 2030

Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, Thursday lamented that the present administration's commitment for the country to attain food self-sufficiency by 2030 may be hampered by the lingering herdsmen/farmers crises in some northern parts of the country.

He, however, maintained that the federal government remained committed to zero food hunger by the year 2030 if the present tempo of agricultural activities were sustained.

Speaking at a symposium to mark the 2018 World Food Day in Abuja with the theme: ‘Our Actions are Our Future: A Zero Hunger World by 2030 is Possible’, the minister said: “The prolonged crisis, especially in the north eastern part and other parts of the country that have experienced incessant clashes of herdsmen and farmers, is also an issue of concern."

He expressed optimism that "in the next 12 years, Nigeria will join the league of nations which would be able to feed the world."

The minister, however, pointed out that the projection could only be attained if all Nigerians see and treat agriculture as serious business and not as mere programme.

According to him, the country must take advantage of its rapidly growing population to invest seriously in agriculture while the private sector takes the lead in the project with the government providing the enabling environment, "because government has proven to be bad business manager."

Lokpobiri maintained also that the state governments must collectively demonstrate seriousness in agriculture by committing at least five percent of their budgets to agriculture, and “this way, the country would be able to upscale the agricultural production.”

This was as he commended the efforts of some states like Kebbi, Ebonyi, Zamfara, Ogun among others in agriculture, and urged other states of the federation to emulate the same examples because collectively, Nigeria will achieve the set target.

According to the minister, if Nigeria is able to feed itself, it would have been able to solve the issue of hunger and malnutrition in the black race and by extension, Africa, which is "a bold step in guaranteeing food for all in the world."

The minister was worried that if the country does not achieve the zero hunger target, he foresaw a situation where "food would be snatched away from some people forcefully by the hungry citizens."

He said it is an established fact that the world has made unbelievable progress in the fight against hunger, which has led to the decline in the number of hungry people in the world, but regretted that this success is being threatened by the growing global population.

Country Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Nigeria, Suffyan Koroma, said over the past 40 years, FAO had been working closely with the government to advance sustainable agriculture and food systems with great optimism towards achieving zero hunger in in the country.