By Doris Esa
The World Agriculture Forum Nigeria (WAF) has inaugurated its Country Council to advance transformative dialogue, action on agriculture, food systems, and rural development to boost food security.
Speaking at the inauguration of the council in Abuja, the Executive Director, World Agriculture Forum, Dr MJ Khan, described the establishment of the country council as timely and strategic.
Khan was represented by Mr Lekan Ofem, the Director of Strategy and Head of Country Councils and Stakeholder Engagement, World Agriculture Forum.
He said the event signalled renewed commitment to transforming agriculture into a powerful engine for economic growth, social inclusion and environmental sustainability.
Khan said the Nigerian Country Council was established to foster national collaboration, empower farmers and promote local innovations and to advance sustainable development and climate resilience.
He added that it aims to boost agribusiness, trade and technology as well as to serve as a national knowledge hub and catalyse public-private partnership.
Khan said sustainable progress requires collaboration between governments and the private sector.
“This council will act as a bridge, unlocking investments and driving impactful initiatives.
“Let us seize this opportunity to build a resilient, inclusive and prosperous agricultural sector, one that creates jobs, ensures food security and contributes meaningfully to national development.
“I congratulate Nigeria on this remarkable step forward. We look forward to working closely with you and supporting your journey towards agricultural transformation,” he said.
In an address, Dr Musa Umar, Director, Office of the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, said the inauguration was timely and strategic.
Umar said that agriculture remains one of the most powerful instruments for national development.
He said agriculture is central to food security, economic diversification, rural development, industrial growth, employment generation and social stability.
“As a government, our priority is clear, we are committed to building a resilient, productive, inclusive and viable agricultural system that can feed our people, create jobs, attract investment and position Nigeria as a major global player in regional and global food systems,” he said.
Umar said government’s focus is moving from subsistence farming to agribusiness driven productivity.
“We are prioritising value chain development, mechanisation, irrigation expansion, access to quality inputs, post-harvest management, storage systems, agro processing and market linkages.
“Let us move beyond conversations into coordinated action. Let us ensure that policy translates into productivity and productivity into prosperity,” he said.
Earlier, the Country Director, World Agriculture Forum Nigeria, Dr Alexander Isong, said the mandate of the organisation was to bridge the gap between production and value and improve agricultural production in the country.
“We are here today to inaugurate the World Agricultural Forum in Nigeria. This is the birthing of the world body in Nigeria to improve our agricultural production.
“We are going to be formulating policy, growing projects, implementing projects and funding projects for the growth of agriculture in Nigeria.
“The only way agriculture in Nigeria can actually be resilient is if we are able to have a sustainable food system that will be able to compete with the outside world,” he said.
He said in modern agricultural economics, food security is defined by four pillars — availability, access, utilisation, and stability.
Isong said reducing post-harvest losses even by 20 per cent would recover millions of tonnes of food and inject millions of naira back into the economy.
“Agriculture must move from fragmented production systems to coordinated market-linked ecosystems, where farmers are connected to storage, logistics, processing and markets in a seamless flow,” he said.
“We must reposition agriculture beyond farming, into logistics, into storage, processing and exports,” he said.
Also, Mrs Folashade Tinubu–Ojo (Iyaloja General of Nigeria) said food security is no longer just an agricultural issue but a national priority.
Tinubu–Ojo, who was represented by Chief Mrs Adimchinaka Onwukwe, said rising food prices, post-harvest losses and weak supply chains continue to affect farmers, traders and consumers across the country.
“We must empower women who form a large part of the agricultural workforce and engage our youth by making agriculture more innovative, technology-driven and commercially attractive,” she said.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma
