Agricultural sector
Sokoto establishes poultry development agency
Five governors from Borno, Benue, Ebonyi, Ogun and Sokoto states have endorsed a zero hunger project to eradicate famine by 2025.
The endorsement was part of a peer advisory mechanism that was established by the Nigeria Zero Hunger Forum (NZHF).
The governors, who met in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, also pledged to pursue their homegrown agricultural plans to end hunger by 2030.
The forum is seeking to review, monitor and advise states on the ways that they could use available resources to achieve the target by 2030.
According to an official of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Goodwill Ambassador, former President Olusegun Obasanjo is the chairman of the NZHF.
He disclosed: “More states will be involved as we make progress on the project.”
A communiqué at the end of the meeting agreed to hold advisory meetings on quarterly basis across the member-states.
It said its membership cuts across the private sector, government and development partners.
The IITA’s Deputy Director General for Partnerships for Delivery, Dr. Kenton Dashiell explained that the advisory mechanism would encourage states to be committed to agriculture to achieve their set targets.
He commended the maiden meeting, noting that Benue has the capacity to feed the country if its agricultural potential was fully explored.
The state Governor, Samuel Ortom, described the initiative as a tool that would accelerate the state’s agricultural development.
The African Development Bank (AfDB), World Food Programme (WFP), the private sector, farmer groups, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), the Nigeria School of Military Engineering (NASME), also attended the meeting.
Meanwhile, Sokoto State has announced the establishment of a Poultry Development Agency to enable its residents to engage in the sector.
The governor’s spokesman on media, Imam Imam, said in a statement that the agency was established to make the state to be a leading producer of poultry in the upcoming years.
He said the agency, which Balarabe Ladan heads, would tackle poverty and provide employment for the people.
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