FG companions agric corporations to help farmers 

The Federal Government is partnering with a consortium of mid-sized agriculture companies that have pledged to support millions of farmers across different value chains nationwide.

This formed the crux of a meeting between Vice President Kashim Shettima and a group of entrepreneurs who paid him a courtesy visit at the State House, Abuja, on Friday.

Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communications, Stanley Nkwocha, disclosed this in a statement he signed Friday titled, ‘Nigeria’s food security bid receives boost as agric coys pledge support.’

Shettima commended the efforts of the young entrepreneurs, particularly in “seeking practical solutions to challenges confronting the nation.”

The VP welcomed their partnership, saying, “Mid-sized companies like yours should be the drivers of change in our nation. We can work as a team towards addressing our core challenges.”

He also noted President Bola Tinubu’s leadership and commitment to stimulating growth in the economy, especially working with the private sector.

“My boss is very much devoted to stimulating growth in the Nigerian economy, regardless of the challenges.

“Leadership is actually about challenges and we are mindful of them. We want collaboration from the private sector to turn agriculture into a business and dramatically change our economic landscape.

“We (as a nation) are one of the resource-endowed countries in the world and have no business being poor,” he added.

He called on the private sector, including financial institutions, to support the Federal Government’s drive to transform agricultural production and improve the welfare of Nigerians.

Shettima also stressed the need to engage small-holder farmers with the view to increasing their productivity as part of measures towards achieving the country’s food security objectives.

Earlier in his remarks, the leader of the delegation and CEO of AFEX, a leading commodities exchange in Nigeria, Mr Akinyinka Akintunde, said the group was at the presidential villa to pledge its support for the government’s programmes and policies in the agricultural sector.

Akintunde announced that the group is proposing an initiative to support two million farmers across four value chains (Rice, Maize, Sorghum and Soyabeans) to enhance sustainable agriculture and ensure the success of the food security drive of the Federal Government.

He said the consortium comprising mid-sized agricultural companies in Nigeria will achieve the set objectives by engaging and collaborating with key stakeholders, including the Private Finance Initiative, the Fertilizer Producers & Suppliers Association of Nigeria and farmer aggregation companies.

The AFEX Chief outlined the proposed initiative to also include linking farmers to markets and enriching the government’s grain reserves across the country with assorted commodities, all in a bid to boost the food security targets of the administration.

Also present at the meeting were the VP of Operations at Thrive Agric, Oshone Anavhe; Managing Director of SWAgCo (South West Agriculture Company) Limited, Jide Arowosafe; representative of Sterling Bank, Joshua Zira, and Head of Market Growth at AFEX, Zara Dogo, among others.