The Ogun State government has affirmed that it is ready to key-in into the federal government’s agricultural policy on food security and nutrition in order to reduce the rate of child malnutrition in the state.
State Commissioner for Agriculture Adeola Odedina disclosed this at a meeting with representatives from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, in Abuja noting that the state government has started taking steps to improve child nutrition in Ogun through its value chain program.
Nigeria is facing two key gaps in agriculture today: an inability to meet domestic food requirements and an inability to export at the quality levels required for market success.
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The former problem is a productivity challenge driven by an input system and farming model that is largely inefficient due to a lack of seeds, fertilizers, irrigation, and crop protection, among other factors.,
The latter challenge is driven by an equally inefficient system for setting and enforcing food quality standards, as well as by poor knowledge of target markets.
The commissioner explained that one goal of Gov. Dapo Abiodun’s current agricultural policies has been to drive the state economy through a public-private partnership initiative.
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Odedina underscored that the State Ministry of Agriculture is ready to work closely with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture as part of its policies to address the problem of child malnutrition in Ogun State.
While representing Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Muhammed Nanono, his special adviser on food security and nutrition, Adeyinka Onabolu noted that no fewer than 12 million Nigerian children are suffering from stunted growth thought to be linked to a lack of good food and that Ogun was among several states chosen to address this challenge through agriculture.
