FG sets up committee to boost wheat production, food security

The federal government has set up a technical committee to accelerate wheat and other staple crop production, expand livestock development and address challenges affecting farmers across the country.

Vice-President Kashim Shettima constituted the committee on Tuesday during a high-level meeting on agricultural sector performance and strategic interventions at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Shettima charged members to develop a blueprint for implementing targeted interventions in the agricultural sector, stressing the need for coordinated action to improve food security.

The meeting followed a broader engagement with President Bola Tinubu last week involving stakeholders in agriculture and other sectors.

The committee comprises representatives of the Federal Ministries of Agriculture and Food Security, Water Resources and Sanitation, and Livestock Development, as well as other government agencies and financial institutions.

They include the Ministry of Finance Incorporated, the Bank of Industry, the Bank of Agriculture, the National Agricultural Land Development Authority, the National Agricultural Seeds Council, the National Agricultural Development Fund and the National Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation.

Other members are drawn from the National Sugar Council of Nigeria, Nigeria Commodities Exchange and the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, alongside presidential aides responsible for livestock reform, agribusiness, productivity enforcement and food security.

The committee will be coordinated by Marion Moon, Technical Adviser to the Vice-President on Agriculture and Head of the Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit.