By John Oba Abuja
Th e federal government has launched the Agricultural Sector Food Security and Nutrition Strategy 2016 to 2025 to guide the activities of the Ministry of Agriculture and the wider agricultural sector for improved nutrition. Addressing the panelists at the launch held at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja yesterday, the Senior Special Adviser to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Adeyinka Onabolu, said the strategy would ensure eff ective advocacy for mobilizing necessary human, material, and fi nancial resources and encourage sustained commitment to agricultural development for improved nutrition. S
he said the strategy set out eight priority areas ranging from enhance value chains for improved nutrition; diversify household food production and consumption especially targeting women and incrase access to micronutrient rich food; improved food safety along the value chain; building resilience and social protection net through food nutrition systems for vulnerable groups. Other include promote nutrition research and information system; improve the agricultural sector capacity to address food security and nutrition problems; nutrition education, social marketing, behaviours change communication, and advocacy; and nutrition surveillance and monitoring and evaluation.
She lamented the ways Nigeria farm, saying doing agriculture in such ways cannot guarantee food security and nutrition. Launching the document on behalf of the minister of Agriculture and rural development, Kano State deputy governor, Prof. Abubakar Hafi z, said the issue of nutrition in Nigeria is unprecedented and that Nigerian will continue to appreciate the eff orts of Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition that partner with the government to develop the policy. He said one of the major factor for the nutrition burden in Nigeria is the issue of food security, particularly at the household level. “It is very diffi cult to separate the issue of food security and nutrition in Nigeria.
We ought to also realize that issue about these two important items are multi-sectorial in nature. So we need multi-disciplinary team to draw the policy. And in a developing country, one of the most diffi cult aspect of governance is multi sectorial collaboration and this is one of our biggest challenges which would have address the failure of our national food and nutrition policy,” he said
