Read-out of the Director-General’s meeting with the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development of Nigeria, Mohammed Mahmood Abubakar
The Minister conveyed his appreciation for FAO’s support for Nigeria’s Medium-Term National Development Plan 2021-2025 and 2026-2030. He highlighted the importance of food security for the country and noted the need for continued support through increased capacity development. The Minister shared Nigeria’s vision for the agriculture and food ecosystem to achieve at least a 10% annual growth rate, driven by the country’s vibrant entrepreneurs, leveraging technology and innovation to leapfrog and ensure the provision of affordable and nutritious food for the country’s fast growing population.
The Minister also expressed the need for the country to have an integrated infrastructure development approach to ensure less post-harvest losses and improve rural infrastructure to encourage investment by small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs), and for rural development to counter-act the increased migration from these areas, while also supporting value chain improvements.
The Director-General congratulated and thanked the Minister for the country’s ambitious vision and planning, and commended the Minister on the results achieved with rice and millets. He agreed that wheat was a key product in light of the current global situation, and that by using different varieties that are adaptable to season changes the production can increase. In this regard, the Director-General reaffirmed FAO’s technical support and invited the Minister to participate in the World Food Forum 2023 from 16 to 21 October, as an opportunity to showcase the work done under the FAO Hand-in Hand initiative.
The Director–General also highlighted the importance of digitalization as a key component for innovation of the agriculture sector and as enabler for youth engagement.
The two recommitted to a strong partnership moving forward.