By Ovat Abeng
Anambra farmers under the umbrella of Divine Men and Women Farmers Nigeria, has commended President Bola Tinubu, the Anambra State governor, Chukwuma Charles Soludo and Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, for their commitment towards achieving food surplus in Nigeria.
The commendation was made during the group’s familiarization visit to the Anambra State Director, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Chief Arthur Mbuba, in his office, on Thursday.
They hailed the Tinubu/Soludo administrative efforts to economic growth and positioning Nigeria as one of the key player in regional and global food markets.
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According to the National President and founder of the group, Mrs Chiamaka Ositadinma, who spoke further on the government commitment towards Agriculture, said the shift from subsistence farming to a thriving agribusiness ecosystem is a crucial step in empowering genuine farmers and fostering private sector-led growth.
She noted that recent policies, including the state of emergency on agriculture and temporary tariff suspensions on essential food imports, have yielded positive results.
She said the Tinubu/Soludo progressive collaboration has also been instrumental in driving growth in the agricultural sector of the country.
“The Tinubu’s led-Federal government Renewed Hope agenda which agriculture is the key priority of the initiative has empowered many Nigerians, mostly, women through the first lady, Mrs Remi Tinubu.
“In Anambra, Governor Soludo’s priority in Agriculture has attracted large-scale farming through the free distribution of palm nut, coconut, maize, rice and yarn seedlings to all farmers in the state including the civil servants and other willing residents.
“As a result of the free distribution, there is enough availability of food now to meet the basic nutritional needs of the population in the state at a low price compared to previous administrations, and which is why Divine Men and Women Farmers Nigeria, established under my leadership, aims to advocate the sustainability of the surplus to avoid hunger by ensuring that enough food is available to meet daily nutritional requirement of Nigeria people.
“Divine Men and Women Farmers Nigeria, has branches across the 36 states of the federation.
“Our mission is to advocate and partner with the federal and states government to ensure that farm inputs including funds are given only to genuine farmers in the country. It’s an agric-watchdog organization.
“Presently, we have at least 1 acre of land In 21 local government area of Anambra state hungrily waiting for the federal and Anambra state government assistance to embarked on massive farming.
“We are appealing to the government to assist us with funds, being it free cash or loan to enable members of this group to engage in large-scale farming.
We also call on all stakeholders to support our initiatives aimed at achieving food security and sustainable agricultural development in Nigeria.
“And with the current trend of declining food prices, we are optimistic that Nigeria is on the path to becoming a food-surplus nation,” Mrs Ositadinma concluded.
In his welcome speech, the State Director of Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Chief Mbuba, pledged to partner with the group to achieved its set goals.
He said President Tinubu places high premium on food security in the country which made him to change the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
He disclosed that he was very much interested in the organization because of the involvement of women in what they are doing, noting that globally, women are seen as people that are more interested in Agriculture than men.
While promising to transmit their request to the higher authorities for proper attention and actions, Chief Mbuba urged members of the group to open account with Bank of Agriculture (BOA), to enable them have full access to government loans and other agricultural benefits.
