Governors in Northern Nigeria have been tasked with taking a realistic and sustainable approach to tackling food insecurity and poverty by harnessing and optimising its agricultural potential.
Speaking recently during the northwest summit of the National Institute of Management (NIM) in Kano, Prof. Muhammad Makarfi, an agriculturist with the Department of Agriculture from Bayero University Kano, highlighted in his keynote address that the zone is the strongest in agricultural production of critical grains and livestock such as maise, wheat, rice, millet, tomatoes, goats, and sheep, among others.
He emphasised the need for governors to synergise, reinvent strategies, and invest in conflict resolution, food production, and value chain addition for agricultural products to create job opportunities, generate income, and fight poverty.
“Right now, everyone is working on its cocoon, but there are things they cannot solve alone as a state government; it’s a regional thing. While population growth is going up by about three per cent per annum and food production is about 1.5 per cent, we need to develop some new technology to improve productivity on individual farms so we can no longer feed ourselves.
“We also have a large number of youths who are not gainfully unemployed; this is resulting in a high level of insecurity, drug peddling, among others,” he noted.
In her remarks, the President of the Nigeria Institute of Management, NIM (Chartered), Dr Christiana Atako, said the summit brought experts to examine contemporary issues, seek solutions, and advocate government and policymakers for proper implementation.
The Kano state governor, Abba Yusuf, represented by the state commissioner for planning and budget, Musa Shanon, stressed the state’s government commitment to boosting the education sector and empowering youths and women.
He noted that the state government empowers 100 women across the 484 wards with N50,000 monthly to boost small-scale businesses and the economy.