Nigeria, AU Boost Food Security through CAADP

 Arthur Eriye

Nigeria and the African Union are advancing food security via the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP)

CAADP is a plan to help grow and improve farming in Africa. It was started in 2003 by African leaders to speed up development in the farming sector across the continent.

A top official at Nigeria’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Marcus Ogunbiyi, stated this at a workshop to review Nigeria’s farming performance from 2022 to 2024 and to plan for 2025 to 2027 in Abuja recently.

He said the primary objective of the workshop was to assess Nigeria’s progress in achieving the targets established by the African Union.

Ogunbiyi explained that CAADP is a powerful program created to improve farming across Africa.

He explained that CAADP aims to improve food security, reduce poverty, and grow the economy. Countries are encouraged to aim for a 6% annual growth in agriculture and to spend at least 10% of their national budget on farming.

Earlier at the workshop, a director in the Ministry, Mr. Ibrahim Tanimu, said the goal of the meeting was to plan how to improve Nigeria’s food and farming system.

In a goodwill message, Ms. Blessing Akhile from ActionAid Nigeria said the workshop is important for making sure everyone is involved, responsible, and working together.

She promised that ActionAid will continue to support fair farming policies that meet the needs of small farmers, especially women and young people.