Business

FG To End Hunger Among 13m Nigerians

Published

13 years ago

July 5, 2013

The Nigerian Government has announced plans to expand the use of bio-fortified crops, such as pro-vitamin ‘A’ cassava and orange-flesh sweet potato to address the hunger situation being faced by some 13 million people.
Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, gave the indication on Monday in Addis Ababa at the High Level Meeting of AU Heads of State and Government on “unified approach to end hunger in Africa by 2025.
The African Union, FAO and the Lula Institute jointly convened the meeting with a theme “unified approach to end hunger in Africa by 2025”, within the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) framework.
Adesina said, “much progress is being made, we are mindful that we still have challenges of malnutrition and micro-nutrient deficiencies to tackle.
“Nigeria still has 13 million people suffering from hunger and malnutrition is still high”.
Adesina said that Nigeria had made good progress in the target set to produce an additional 3.2 million metric tonnes of rice paddy to attain self-sufficiency in rice by 2015.
“We have already unleashed a rice revolution in Nigeria and produced 1.8 million metric tonnes of rice paddy within two years.
“This is 55 per cent of the target set for 2015 as in the dry season of 2012 to 2013; we produced a record 1.1 million metric tonnes of rice.
“This created 460,000 jobs, especially for the youth. Farmers net incomes increased by an estimated 200 million dollars, creating wealth for farmers and their communities.”
According to him, Nigeria has ended the approach of taking agriculture as a development programme, saying “we treat agriculture as a business.
“We should not manage poverty with agriculture; we should create wealth through agriculture,” Adesina said.
He said in the past year, Nigeria had leveraged eight billion dollars in private sector investment commitments.
“In the past six months, we have received letters of private investment commitments worth 3.3 billion dollars.
The minister said Development Partners were supporting the Federal Government’s Agricultural Transformation. Agenda with more than two billion dollars in financial commitments from the World Bank, African Development Bank, DFID, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, IFAD, UNDP and USAID.
“In Nigeria, as long as any Nigerian goes to bed without food, our job is not complete.
“We will not relent until we end hunger in Nigeria. For the ‘democracy of the stomach‘ is the right of every Nigerian,” he said.
The minister said social transfer programmes, such as school feeding and conditional income transfers would be expanded.
He said the Federal Government’s save one million lives initiative programme would tackle child malnutrition through community-based management of acute malnutrition and integrated young child feeding programme.
“In 2012, over 400,000 severely malnourished under-five children were treated. We are also promoting exclusive breast feeding for infants through the age of six months.
“Nigeria welcomes the new Partnership for a Unified Approach to End Hunger.”
The minister noted that the experience of Brazil, under the leadership of former President Lula, clearly showed that where there is a will, there is a way.
We welcome the idea of the Africa Solidarity Trust Fund and are currently considering our possible role and contribution to the Fund.
The minister said government had embarked on reforms on fertiliser and seed policies to accelerate the access of millions of farmers to improved technologies.
“To better target our farmers and eliminate corruption in these sub-sectors, we developed an electronic wallet system of providing farm inputs to farmers using electronic vouchers on mobile phones.
“Nigeria is the first country in Africa to develop such a system. In 2012, we reached 1.5 million small scale farmers with the electronic wallet system. This improved food security for an additional 7.5 million persons within the farm households.”
He said Nigeria launched a national database for farmers, where 4.2 million farmers were registered last year, while 10 million farmers had so far been registered in 2013.
“We plan to provide 10 million farmers with seeds and fertilisers and assure food security for 50 million persons by 2015.’’
The meeting is being attended by some 15 AU Heads of States and Government as well as international experts on food security, non-state actors, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Women groups in the agriculture sector.

Business

Agency Gives Insight Into Its Inspection, Monitoring Operations

Published

2 weeks ago

January 12, 2026

The Tide

The Director, South South Zone National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Pharmacist Chujwuma P.Oligbu has said its thorough implementation of its core mandate of monitoring has no link with witch-hunting or fault finding as perceived at some quarters.

Oligbu, made this known when he spoke as as guest at the maiden Rivers state Supermarkets stakeholders’ Seminar/Workshop in Port Harcourt recently.

Rather, he said they were mere opportunities for education, correction and continuous improvement.

The Agency’s South South Boss, noted that Supermarket operators who maintain transparent records, cooperate during inspections, and promptly address identified gaps demonstrate professionalism and commitment to public health standard.

He listed the deserving essence of supermarket operation to include the key aspects of supermarket operation that deserves emphasis is product sourcing.

“Supermarkets must ensure that all regulated products stocked on their shelves are duly registered with NAFDAC and sourced from legitimate manufacturers or distributors”, he said .

According to him, the presence of unregistered, expired, counterfeit, or improper labelled products undermines consumer confidence and poses serious health risks.

He pointed out that such has the likelihood of exposeing supermarket operators to legal sanctions that could damage their reputation and financial stability.

The NAFDAC Operator, further enlightened the participants that mere registration of a particular product with the Federal agency do not guarantee absolute consumption safety.

“Temperature control, cleanliness, pest control, stock rotation, and proper shelving are not optional practice; they are essential components of compliance”, he said.

The South South zonal director also told the operators of supermarket that their employees rotine training on the basis of the product they display for sale is of utmost importance.

In her presentation a Breast Milk Nutrition Expert , Professor Alice Nte of University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), was against the body’s prime attention to breast milk substitute or baby milk in supermarkets as well as its advertisement or promotion.

Nye jerked up the importance of mothers breast milk to the newborn baby and added that it help in fighting against childhood diseases, infections and combating cancer in breastfeeding mothers.

Meanwhile, NAFDAC Deputy Director, South – South Zone , Mrs. Riter Chujwuma educated the participants on the guidelines for global listing, and the need to adhere strictly to rules guiding global listing to avoid confiscation of their imported products.

By: King Onunwor

Business

BVN Enrolments Rise 6% To 67.8m In 2025 — NIBSS

Published

2 weeks ago

January 12, 2026

The Tide

The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) has said that Bank Verification Number (BVN) enrolments rose by 6.8 per cent year-on-year to 67.8 million as at December 2025, up from 63.5 million recorded in the corresponding period of 2024.

In a statement published on its website, NIBSS attributed the growth to stronger policy enforcement by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the expansion of diaspora enrolment initiatives.

According to the data, more than 4.3 million new BVNs were issued within the one-year period, underscoring the growing adoption of biometric identification as a prerequisite for accessing financial services in Nigeria.

NIBSS noted that the expansion reinforces the BVN system’s central role in Nigeria’s financial inclusion drive and digital identity framework.

Analysts linked the growth largely to regulatory measures by the CBN, particularly the directive to restrict or freeze bank accounts without both a BVN and National Identification Number (NIN), which took effect from April 2024.

The policy compelled many customers to regularise their biometric records to retain access to banking services.

Another major driver, the statement said, was the rollout of the Non-Resident Bank Verification Number (NRBVN) initiative, which allows Nigerians in the diaspora to obtain a BVN remotely without physical presence in the country.

The programme has been widely regarded as a milestone in integrating the diaspora into Nigeria’s formal financial system.

A five-year analysis by NIBSS showed consistent growth in BVN enrolments, rising from 51.9 million in 2021 to 56.0 million in 2022, 60.1 million in 2023, 63.5 million in 2024 and 67.8 million by December 2025. The steady increase reflects stronger compliance with biometric identity requirements and improved coverage of the national banking identity system.

However, NIBSS noted that BVN enrolments still lag the total number of active bank accounts, which exceeded 320 million as of March 2025.

The gap, it explained, is largely due to multiple bank accounts linked to single BVNs, as well as customers yet to complete enrolment, despite the progress recorded.

Business

AFAN Unveils Plans To Boost Food Production In 2026

Published

2 weeks ago

January 9, 2026

The Tide

The leadership of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) has set the tone for the new year with a renewed focus on food security, unity and long-term growth of the agricultural sector.

The association announced that its General Assembly of Farmers Congress will take place from January 15 to 17, 2026 at the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industries, along Lugbe Airport Road, in the Federal Capital Territory.

The gathering is expected to bring together farmers, policymakers, investors and development partners to shape a fresh direction for Nigerian agriculture.

In a New Year address to members and stakeholders, AFAN president, Dr Farouk Rabiu Mudi, said the congress would provide a strategic forum for reviewing past challenges and outlining practical solutions for the future.

He explained that the event would serve as a rallying point for innovation, collaboration and economic renewal within the sector.

Mudi commended farmers across the country for their determination and hard work, despite years of insecurity, climate-related pressures and economic uncertainty.

According to him, their resilience has kept food production alive and positioned agriculture as a stabilising force in the national economy.

He noted that AFAN intends to build on this strength by resetting agribusiness operations to improve productivity and sustainability.

The AFAN leader appealed to government institutions, private investors and development organisations to deepen their engagement with the association.

He stressed the need for collective action to confront persistent issues such as insecurity in farming communities, climate impacts and market instability.

He also urged members to put aside internal disputes and personal interests, encouraging cooperation and shared responsibility in pursuit of national development.

Mudi outlined key priorities that include increasing food output, expanding support for farmers at the grassroots and strengthening local manufacturing through partnerships with both domestic and international investors adding that reducing dependence on imports remains critical to protecting the economy and creating jobs.

He stated that the upcoming congress will feature the launch of AFAN’s twenty-five-year agricultural mechanisation roadmap, alongside the announcement of new partnerships designed to accelerate growth across the value chain.

Participants, he said wi also have opportunities for networking and knowledge exchange aimed at transforming agriculture into a more competitive and technology-driven sector.

As part of its modernisation drive, AFAN is further encouraging members nationwide to enrol for the newly introduced Digital ID Card.

Mudi said the initiative will improve transparency, ensure proper farmer identification and make it easier to access support programmes and services.

Reaffirming the association’s long-term goal, he said the vision of national food sufficiency by 2030 remains achievable if unity and collaboration are sustained.

He expressed optimism that with collective effort, Nigeria’s agricultural sector can overcome its challenges and deliver a more secure and prosperous future.

Lady Usendi