The Federal Government reiterated its dedication to ensuring food and nutritional security and providing work opportunities for the jobless on Tuesday.
This was stated by Mr. Abudullahi Abubakar, Director of the Federal Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture, at a two-day workshop on packaging and processing for women and youth in Abuja.
Abubakar was represented by Mrs. Sugra Mahmood, Deputy Director of the Federal Department of Agriculture’s Irrigation Agriculture and Crop Development Division.
He said that participants in the “training of trainers” came from a variety of clusters made up of 40% kids and 60% women, including those with special needs.
“This is in line with the affirmative action on gender inclusion and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) which the Ministry is faithfully promoting.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria is committed to supporting the agricultural sector, in order to realise its potential of driving an inclusive economic growth, achieving food and nutritional security and creating job opportunities for the unemployed population,” he said.
He asserted that instruction in packaging and processing techniques would improve farmers’ ability to package foods while effectively using raw materials and other resources.
I would want to appeal to all parties involved in the crop subsector, particularly subnational governments, the corporate sector, researchers, and NGOs, to support the government’s initiative to provide farmers with the required education and tools.
“This will cushion the ravaging impacts of the shocks from the pandemic, the Russian/Ukraine conflict, and the recent floods and security challenges in many parts of the country which call for strategic shift in our food processing and packaging practices,” he said.
Mahmood added in her remarks that the participants will be able to process and package their products in accordance with international best practises thanks to the skills they had learned.
“It is our hope that Nigeria will drive the initiative in the West African region by encouraging our women and youth towards the adoption of improved processing and packaging techniques across the agricultural commodity value chain,” she said.
According to her, the participants were chosen from women’s and young people’s farmer cooperative groups in order to provide them with the essential training and information.
Suleiman Aliyu, the Federal Department of Agriculture’s Chief Technical Officer, acted as Mahmood’s representative.
