…as Summit’ll galvanize innovations, technologies for food production- Mbaram

By Gabriel Ewepu, Abuja

AS Nigerians groan under the heavy burden of devastating flood, inflation and soaring food prices, the Director General, Feed Nigeria Summit Secretariat, Richard-Mark Mbaram, Monday, disclosed that Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Senator Adeleke Mamora, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo, and other agribusiness stakeholders will be in attendance at the Feed Nigeria Summit, FNS, 2022.

The theme of the Summit is ‘Riding the Global AgDownturn’, and it will start and end from December 12-13, 2022, in Abuja.

The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, will deliver the keynote address, while Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo will be Guest of Honour, then the Ministers of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Science, Technology and Innovation, Senator Adeleke Mamora, will be chief hosts respectively.

Making this known during a pre-event press conference on webinar, Mbaram, explained that the essence of the event is to galvanize food production with agri-innovations and technologies for rapid food production, especially in 2023 following the current challenges occasioned by flood, drought, post-harvest losses, insecurity, access to finance, poor technology acceptance, application of best international practices, poor penetration of government policies and programmes by government at all levels, high cost of inputs, and poor mechanisation, and others.

According to Mbaram, the Feed Nigeria Summit will focus on technological innovations; production of more food without leaving a mark on the environment; biotechnology; youth and women; climate change; creating partnerships around global and regional sphere; galvanize sectorial potential and capacity; putting the private sector in the forefront; setting up a think-tank, and others.

He also made it known that the United Kingdom, UK, Government along with the African Development Bank, AfDB, International Fund for Agricultural Development, IFAD, Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending, NIRSAL Plc, Bank of Industry, BoI, Bank of Agriculture, BoA, and others.

He also recalled that the Summit running for three consecutive editions have great results as it is yielding fruits in agribusiness, and added that this time around the Summit will adopt the National Agricultural Technology and Innovation Policy, NATIP, to upturn the downturn in the sector.

However, he added that presidential candidates for the 2023 presidential elections will be engaged to know what they have as solutions to the challenges in food production and feeding Nigerians including creating jobs along the various value chains in the sector.

The Feed Nigeria Summit (FNS) is Nigeria’s foremost convocation of the agricultural sector and agro-allied stakeholders. Since its inception, the event has provided a platform for players in the agro-allied ecosystem to proffer solutions to the challenges bedeviling Nigeria’s emergence as an African agricultural powerhouse while also projecting opportunities within the sector.