FMAFS, NASENI set to collaborate

Two government organisations are ready to collaborate on how to improve agro allied-industries’ development for food security. They are the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMFS) and the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), a parastatal under the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology. The establishments would deploy technical competencies and other resources to target climate change mitigations and solar irrigation aimed at dry-season farming.

This decision was taken at a meeting between the agriculture minister, Sen. Abubakar Kyari; his minister for state, Hon. Sabi Abdullahi; and the Vice-Chairman of NASENI, Mr. Khalil Halilu. The top state functionaries agreed that the collaboration would enhance the focus and deliverables toward achieving the ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration. Sen. Kyari said about six of the eight socio-economic recovery programmes in the 8-point agenda of the government are rooted in the success of the agriculture sector.

The minister lauded NASENI for having agriculture as one of its target areas to work on. “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has given my ministry the responsibility to implement one of the programmes in the 8-point agenda. This encompasses food security and five others”, he said. On his part, Halilu said NASENI was ready to collaborate to boost agriculture, as “This is necessary to achieve food security through technology adaptation and transfers”, NASENI boss said. He explained that NASENI’s technical manpower, technologies and its international partners, “are ready to ensure that Nigeria becomes self-sufficient in food production, processing and exports”.

He added that part of the efforts towards actualising this goal, is the on-going NASENI scheme to refurbish 50,000 broken tractors across the country and that “This refurbishment, under the presidential initiative, aims to bring back the culture of large cultivation of lands for farming”. According to him, NASENI management had secured both local and international technical partners to mass-produce Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for the spraying of insecticides over vast farm locations. It is working to sustain afforestation, 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.

The Minister of State, Abdullahi described the move by NASENI as progressive and patriotic. He stated further that time was ripe to put an end to inter-ministerial competition and rivalry and that rather, synergy and collaboration amongst government institutions should become the new culture and orientation. Abdullahi further underscored the earlier statement by his minister, Sen. Kyari that one of the government’s current priorities is food security. He then called for alignments with the ministry’s focus, not only by NASENI, but other agencies with related functions in a bid to actualise the government’s determination at alleviating poverty, create jobs and tackle all other socio-economic challenges.

Meanwhile, the FMAFS has the mandate to ensure food security in crop, livestock and fisheries, stimulate agricultural employment and services, promote the production and supply of raw materials to agro industries, provide markets for the products of the industrial sector, generate foreign exchange and aid rural socio-economic development. On the other hand, NASENI is the on-purpose built intervention agency of the Federal Government, under the Presidency, whose mandate include nurturing an appropriate and dynamic science and engineering infrastructure base for achieving home-initiated and home-sustained industrialisation for Nigeria. The mandate of NASENI includes the development of relevant processes, capital goods and equipment necessary for job creation, national economic well-being and progress.