Determined to address malnutrition and related challenges in the country, the federal government, in collaboration with states, is considering the establishment of urban farms and small home gardens.
The programme is coming under the auspices of the National Economic Council and the National Council on Nutrition, an “Operation Feed Yourself” initiative, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has disclosed.
Professor Osinbajo stated this late Monday at a high-level meeting on nutrition attended by United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Mrs Amina Mohammed, state governors, representatives of development partners, including UNICEF, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Aliko Dangote Foundation, and convener of the UN Food System Dialogue, Mrs. Olusola Idowu, who is also the Permanent Secretary, Budget and National Planning Ministry.
The plan for “Operation Feed Yourself” is one of three major plans arising from the UN-backed Food Systems Dialogues, to advance the fight against malnutrition.
Others are providing support to farmers across the country, especially by providing useful weather and soil pattern information that will improve farming yields, and also encouraging state governments to ensure prompt release of budget for nutrition and related activities.
At the meeting, presentations were made by the Deputy Secretary-General, the Dialogue Convener, Oyo state government, which already has an integrated farming model, and the Director-General, Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMet) on how weather information can be helpful to farmers.
According to the vice president, “There are practical steps that can be taken by the States and Federal Government in the next 12 months.
“I think that some of the suggestions are important, especially those that have come from the UN Food System Dialogue.”
Prof. Osinbajo urged state governments to adopt partnerships that could be effective in scaling up nutrition and related activities, saying: “It is also clear that we can leverage on the support of the UN Agencies and other partners like the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the World Bank as well as our development partners, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Aliko Dangote Foundation.
“The Aliko Dangote Foundation was able to show what they have been doing especially with de-risking facilities that could be used by farmers in the various localities all over the country.”
