By Nneka Nwogwugwu
Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar, has stressed the need for robust collaboration and cooperation amongst African nations particularly in the Agricultural sector.
He stated that it would be more advantageous for Africa to look beyond common borders and harness the enormous and vast agricultural potentials across the food value chains.
The Minister made this disclosure during the courtesy visit by the delegation of the Kenya’s National Defence College (NDC) Course No 24 led by Deputy Commandant, Ambassador Robert Ngesu at the Ministry’s Conference Hall in Abuja on Tuesday.
Dr Abubakar further said, ‘’the Agricultural sector is the foundation of economic growth in any given society or nation, we have tremendous natural resources, we must be seen as working together and sit up to become self-sufficient in food “, the minister counselled.
He explained that ‘’ the Federal Government through the ministry intend to promote agricultural trading across the borders using the multi – MDA approach to make agricultural inputs and outputs more cost effective and standardized .
Abubakar stressed that the mechanization of the agricultural sector would revolutionalize and fast-track development in the sector geared towards achieving food sufficiency, create more jobs and generate revenue for farmers.
In his remarks, the Deputy Commandant, Kenya National Defense College, Ambassador Robert Ngesu stated that the delegation came on a fact finding visit and to understudy the ongoing reforms, policies undertaken by the Federal Government to move the Agricultural sector forward.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr. Ernest Umakhihe, represented by the Director, Federal Department of Agriculture, Mrs Karima Babaginda in his welcome address, said that ‘’ Nigeria and Kenya share many things in common. Apart from military collaboration, we are also both agrarian societies, and agriculture is the future of Africa’’.
Dr Umakhihe added that ‘’ to have our military officers interest and enthusiastic in the sector portends that Africa will be great, as all hands must be on deck towards making the continent free of poverty, hunger and malnutrition ‘’.
