The Federal Government has established a technical committee to accelerate agricultural interventions, increase staple crop production and strengthen livestock development as part of efforts to improve food security across Nigeria.
Vice President Kashim Shettima constituted the committee on Tuesday during a high-level meeting on agricultural sector performance and strategic interventions at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The committee is expected to develop a framework for implementing priority agricultural programmes, particularly wheat production, other staple crops and livestock development.
Shettima urged members to combine their expertise and develop practical recommendations that would accelerate the implementation of government interventions in the agricultural sector.
The meeting followed an earlier engagement with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu last week, which brought together stakeholders from agriculture and other sectors to discuss strategies for improving food production and addressing challenges affecting the sector.
The committee comprises representatives of the Federal Ministries of Agriculture and Food Security, Water Resources and Sanitation, Livestock Development, and the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI).
Other members include officials from the Presidential Livestock Reform initiative, as well as presidential aides responsible for agribusiness, productivity enforcement, food security and livestock development.
Heads of key agricultural and financial institutions are also represented, including the Bank of Industry, Bank of Agriculture, National Agricultural Land Development Authority, National Agricultural Seeds Council and National Agricultural Development Fund.
Additional members come from the National Centre for Agricultural Mechanization, National Sugar Council of Nigeria, Nigeria Commodities Exchange and the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure.
The committee will be coordinated by Marion Moon, Technical Adviser to the Vice President on Agriculture and Head of the Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit.
Speaking after the meeting, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, said discussions focused on resolving major challenges facing farmers and maximising available resources to expand wheat production and dry-season farming.
Kyari explained that President Tinubu had directed the Vice President to identify persistent problems within the agricultural sector and work towards addressing them.
He said the government was also seeking stronger coordination among federal, state and local governments to support year-round farming and improve the utilisation of agricultural resources.
According to the minister, the technical committee would bring together relevant ministries, departments and agencies to coordinate interventions and develop recommendations for implementation.
He added that the committee’s report would undergo further review before being submitted to the Vice President and subsequently presented to the President.
The initiative comes amid continued efforts by the Federal Government to increase domestic food production, address agricultural challenges and strengthen coordination among government institutions to improve food availability across the country.
