Nigeria’s changing demography driven by rapid growth in population coupled with a stagnant and in some cases retrogressing agricultural productivity are challenges that the country needs to worry about, says Nigeria’s former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo at the just concluded Nigeria Zero Hunger Forum (NZHF) in Sokoto.

The former president noted that by 2050, the country’s population would be over 400 million, and the increase in population would put pressure on food systems as more people would require food to eat for survival.

Chief Obasanjo said Nigeria should begin to think and proffer solutions to this coming challenge that the country would be faced with in no distant future.

Chief Obasanjo’s position was reechoed by the former Governor of Adamawa State, Alh. Murtala Nyako who canvassed for greater youth involvement in agriculture.

Alh. Nyako underscored the importance of nutrition to the peace and security of the nation, stressing that a well-nourished population is calmer than one that is not.

Alh. Nyako added that the restiveness being experienced across the nation is correlated to poor nutrition among children who end up stunted with low intelligence quotient.

His Eminence, Sultan of Sokoto Mahammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, commended the Nigeria Zero Hunger initiative, and lauded Chief Obasanjo for taking the driver seat to move the initiative forward.

The Sultan, who is the spiritual head of Muslims in Nigeria, called on the Federal and State governments to fund agricultural research and extensions services.

Dr Kenton Dashiell, Deputy Director General for Partnerships and Delivery at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) said the task of ending hunger required partnerships and collaboration among all actors in the agriculture value chain.

Dr Dashiell while reading the communique, which was released today (Monday), disclosed that the participating states—Benue, Borno, Ebonyi, Ogun, Sokoto and Kebbi— of the zero hunger forum were on track, and have made progress towards the attainment of zero hunger.

While commending the efforts of Sokoto state, especially in agriculture financing, Dr Dashiell said Sokoto and Kebbi were among the few states in Nigeria that had met the Maputo Declaration of allocating 10 percent of annual budgets to agriculture.

Efforts by Sokoto state to tackle malnutrition were also appreciated especially the investment in the Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Foods (RUTF) towards addressing malnutrition in children.

The communique noted that addressing malnutrition is key for Sokoto state. In this context, the government was advised to partner with the private sector in the establishment of food manufacturing industries that would produce Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Foods (RUTF) using local materials and targeting children.

It was also agreed that awareness on breast feeding should be intensified and that women should be supported in nutrition-enhancing enterprises that would provide nutritious food options to the population and at the same time serve as income generating activities for women.

The Governor of Sokoto State, Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, appreciated the NZHF for giving the hosting the hosting right to Sokoto and reiterated the commitment of the states towards ending hunger.

He promised to constitute a technical committee on zero hunger to help the state achieve the targets set in the Sustainable Development Goals especially goal number 2 also known as Zero Hunger.

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The former President made this conclusion on 7 November at the NZHF meeting in Ebonyi state. The Ebonyi meeting was the second NZHF assembly after Benue hosted a similar one in June.

“I see a healthy competition between states which is good, ” the former President said as participating governors recounted progress made towards food security in their respective domains.

The governors said that in less than a year the Zero Hunger initiative was already having a positive impact on the food security of their states.

According to them, the initiative through its peer advisory/review mechanism has brought a new vigor and zeal to the agricultural sector with more commitments by participating states. They also commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his strong support to the states’ agricultural programs.

For Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, there is now a realization of untapped agricultural opportunities that the state can explore to benefit its people, thanks to the NZHF.

Describing the Zero Hunger Forum as a great initiative, Governor Ortom said the state keyed into the initiative with the conviction that it would help the state to maintain its pride as the food basket of the country.

“We have keyed into this program and believe that through NZHF, Nigeria will be helped,” he added.

The governor explained that the recently passed anti-grazing bill was aimed at promoting peace between herdsmen and crop farmers with a view to achieving zero hunger by 2030. He further announced that the state would also facilitate peace between the people of Agila in Benue and Ngbo in Ebonyi to end the border crises and bring peace in that area, so farmers can go back to farming.

Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi state said the benefits of the Nigeria Zero Hunger initiative were priceless as participating states were learning from each other.

“When we went to Benue, we learnt from them and today, Benue and other states are here to also learn from us,” he said.

 The Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, who was represented by his deputy, Alhaji Usman Mamman Durkwa, expressed gratitude to the NZHF for the support given to the state early this year to cushion the effects of insurgency. Particularly mentioned were the “seeds of renaissance” from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), AfricaRice, and ICRISAT, and the rice from Ebonyi to feed the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Borno State.  

The Zero Hunger meeting in Ebonyi was attended by more than 500 persons including policymakers and development partners.

The meeting discussed the progress made by Ebonyi state towards the attainment of zero hunger.

The President of the African Development Bank, Dr Akin Adesina who was represented by the Director (Agriculture), Dr Chiji Ojukwu, commended the implementation of the initiative and reiterated the Bank’s support to feeding Africa. He reminded stakeholders that Africa must take agriculture seriously and implement policies and programs that would engender inclusive growth.

The Director General of IITA, Dr Nteranya Sanginga, pledged the Institute’s commitment to supporting and working with states to achieve their food security goals.

Participants at the meeting included the host, Governor Umahi of Ebonyi State, Governor Ortom of Benue State, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto, Governor Abubakar Bagudu of Kebbi, Deputy Governor Alhaji Usman of Borno State, and a representative of the Chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Senator Abdullahi Adamu.

Participants from the donor and international community included Dr. Sanginga, Director General of IITA; Dr. Ojukwu, Director (Agriculture) of AfDB; Dr. Abiodun Oladipo, World Food Program; Dr. Abraham Shaibu, AfricaRice; Dr. Tawanda Muzhingi, International Potato Center (CIP); members of Ebonyi State Executive Council, representatives from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, academia, the private sector, farmer groups, traditional rulers, and members of the press.

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The peer advisory mechanism, which is a brainchild of the Nigeria Zero Hunger Forum (NZHF) is aimed at reviewing, monitoring, and advising states in Nigeria on the ways and means by which the states themselves, using available resources, can achieve zero hunger by 2030.

The five pilot states which have given their endorsements include Benue, Borno, Ebonyi, Ogun and Sokoto state.

“More states will be involved as we make progress,” according to the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Goodwill Ambassador, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is chairing the NZHF.

According to a communique issued at the end of the maiden edition of the NZHF in Makurdi and made available today, members of the NZHF which cut across the private sector, government and development partners agreed to hold its advisory meetings on quarterly basis across the states.

The Forum also adopted a template for its future advisory meetings: The first day should be dedicated to a welcome address by the state followed by presentations of what is going on in the host state related to achieving zero hunger (challenges, successes, and lessons learnt).

The next day, should be dedicated to field visits to engage with large, medium, and small scale farmer groups; medium and large scale agriculture related industries such as food and feed processors, and fertilizer blending factories, and programs to improve the health and nutrition of infants and children. The day should end with reflections of the day and a communique.

Dr Kenton Dashiell, IITA Deputy Director General for Partnerships for Delivery, who also manages the secretariat of the NZHF at IITA, explained that the peer advisory mechanism of the NZHF would encourage states to keep focus to the commitment they made towards agriculture so they could by themselves achieve their set targets.

He commended the maiden meeting in Benue state, noting that the state has the capacity to feed the country if its agricultural potential was fully tapped.

The Governor of Benue State, Dr Samuel Ortom, described the Nigeria Zero Hunger initiative as a tool that would accelerate the agricultural development of states through peer learning.  He noted that through the instrumentality of the Forum the state was able to purchase fertilizers in good time for distribution to farmers.

“Again from the NZHF meeting, we have been given advice on how to handle certain areas and in some cases the former president personally made contacts through the phone on our behalf to persons who have the answers,” Dr Ortom explained.

The meeting in Benue, had in attendance Governor Ortom, Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi; Deputy Governor of Borno State, and representatives of the Governors of Ogun and Sokoto states, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), African Development Bank (AfDB), World Food Program (WFP), the private sector, farmer groups, members of Benue State Executive Council, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), the Nigeria Army School of Military Engineering (NASME), and members of the press.

The NZHF is supported by IITA, African Development Bank (AfDB), WFP and the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL).

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