Abdullahi: FG Working to Reverse Food Crisis, Harps on Improved Seeds

Stories by James Emejo in Abuja

The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Senator, Dr. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, has said the ministry is currently working with critical stakeholders to reverse the current food crisis situation in the country.

He said to reach food self-sufficiency or improve current food self-sufficiency levels, there’s the need to attain all potential crop production levels for major food security crops namely maize, wheat, sorghum, millet, soybean, cassava, yam, cowpeas, potatoes among others. 

The minister stated this at the opening of the 6th Seed Connect conference and exhibition with the theme: ‘’Global Declaration of Food Emergency – The role of the seed industry and ensuring Africa’s Food and Nutrition Security’’.

Specifically, he maintained that the issue of improved seeds had to be on the front burner given the challenges posed by climate change and the constraints to crop yields due to drought, heat and cold stress, including altered soil properties due to deteriorating soil fertility, floods and diseases and pests among others.

Abdullahi said, “Accordingly, our production system must overcome biophysical and socioeconomic constraints causing yield gaps in our crops production system through the production and cultivation of improved seeds.

“The development of new climate resilient crops that are tolerant and adapted to biotic and abiotic stresses will require the propagation of novel crop varieties and the increase of new improved and adapted high-yielding varieties under water and nutrient-limited environments should be the new target.

“All hands must be on deck as we work to deliver on the topmost national priority of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, under the Renewed Hope Agenda – food security.”

The minister said seed remained a biological embodiment of all production potentials that set the limits of response to all agronomic inputs.

According to him, Nigeria currently produced 110,798 metric tons of seeds in 2022 which is a summation of some major seeds that are established in the formal seeds sector.