The partnership is on how to deploy existing technical competencies and other resources to improve agro allied-industries development targets, climate change mitigations and smart solar irrigation aimed at dry-season farming.
Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari; Minister of State, Hon. Sabi Aliyu Abdullahi; and Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of NASENI, Mr. Khalil Halilu, came to the agreement after a meeting held in Abuja on Monday.
The outcome of the meeting was stated in a press release by NASENI Director of Information, Olusegun Ayeoyenikan.
The trio agreed that the nascent collaboration between NASENI and the Ministry of Agriculture was aimed at enhancing the focus and deliverables toward achievement of the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.
Senator Abubakar Kyari gave insight to some of the essentials in the 8-Point Renewed Hope Agenda of the government.
He said about six of the eight socio-economic recovery programmes have the starting points in their achievements rooted in the success of the agricultural sector.
Therefore, the minister commended Halilu, EVC of NASENI and his team for having agriculture as one of the agency’s target areas to work.
“I won’t be tired of saying that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has given my ministry the responsibility to carry out one of the important programmes in the 8-point Renewed Hope agenda, which is food security and five others,” he said.
Halilu was received, not only by Senator Abubakar Kyari and the Minister of State, but also by all the directors in the ministry present at the meeting.
Halilu said NASENI was ready to collaborate with the Ministry of Agriculture to boost agriculture and also achieve food security through technology adaptation and transfers.
He said NASENI’s technical manpower, technologies and also international partners were ready to work in ensuring that Nigeria becomes self-sufficient in food production, food processing and exports.
Part of the efforts in actualising the goal, he said, is the on-going NASENI Scheme to refurbish about 50,000 broken tractors across the country under the presidential initiative, aimed at bringing back the culture of large cultivation of lands for farming.
According to him, the NASENI Management has secured both local and international technical partners to work with the agency to mass-produce Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for spraying of insecticides over vast farm locations, sustain afforestation.
He added that NASENI will introduce solar-powered water irrigation to increase wet and dry season farming yields, cold chain food processing and agro-allied value chain additions for preservation and processing of foods in commercial quantities and exports.
Halilu said the collaboration plans with the ministry included crop traceability, rice straw project, mitigation of climate change through scientific and technological researches or innovations to increase food production, value addition and ensue Nigeria’s dependence on food imports reduce significantly.
“We are embarking on development activities in agriculture from production to commercialisation.
“The key thing is how we can add value to our farm produce or raw materials before they are consumed or before exporting them out of our country.
“Also, as for foreign technologies brought into our country, we are seeking the cooperation and collaboration of the ministry to transfer, domesticate and commercialise such technologies. In a nutshell, this is why we are here,” Halilu stated.
The NASENI EVC said since assuming office, he has been receiving a lot of requests in terms of how the agency could add value around agriculture from production all the way to the market.
He said a recent outing by the agency at the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Forum in China attracted about $6 billion dollars’ investment, adding that about 40 per cent of the monies will be channeled to agriculture.
In his remarks, the Minister of State, Hon. Abdullahi, expressed appreciation of the visit by NASENI’s EVC and his team, describing the move as progressive and patriotic.
He said the time to put an end to inter-ministerial competition and rivalry is now, adding that synergy and collaboration amongst government institutions should rather become the new culture and orientation.
He re-emphasised the earlier statement by Senator Kyari that one of the key priorities of Federal Government’s is food security.
Abdullahi therefore called for alignments with the agriculture ministry’s focus, not only by NASENI but other agencies with related functions.
He said this became imperative in order to actualise the government intentions to alleviate poverty, create jobs and tackle all other socio-economic ills in Nigeria society.
