Oyo State Government has reiterated its commitment to supporting farmers and youths in the state, in a bid to achieve food sustenance and sufficiency.
This was contained in a statement by the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Honourable Adeniyi Adebisi, to commemorate World Food Day today.
According to the Commissioner for Information, Dr Wasiu Olatunbosun, who disclosed this to newsmen on Saturday, October 16, 2021, his counterpart in the Ministry of Agriculture noted that the state government, under the leadership of Engineer Seyi Makinde, would leave no stone unturned in order to bring to reality the theme for this year’s World Food Day which is “Our Actions Are Our Future; Better Production, Better Nutrition, Better Environment and a Better Life.”
Adebisi reassured the state farmers and other stakeholders in the agric sector of an enabling environment government was creating to improve the sector, adding that doing so would subdue poverty, hunger and promote healthy diets in the State.
He however called on stakeholders to come up with ideas and suggestions that would lead to improved productivity, profitability and sustainability of the food value chains in the state.
The Commissioner noted that the World Food Day presents an opportunity to appreciate what the state government had been able to do to ensure food sufficiency, and the encouragement of local food contents consumed in the state.
According to him, every 16th of October, World Food Day is celebrated across the globe as initiated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, as an international day for the eradication of poverty, which Nigeria is a member.
The statement further explained that the main objective of the celebration was to heighten public awareness on the problems of hunger, malnutrition and poverty, as well as proffer solution to problems of agriculture and food production.
In Nigeria, organizations and individuals involved in feeding programmes connect with other stakeholders in food production, agro-allied industries, wholesalers and community based organizations to address food security challenges during this celebration.