Food security: Nigeria, Saudi Arabia ministers meet, hopeful for more collaborations

Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Security says Food security and agriculture take center stage in President Bola Tinubu’s Administration as any collaboration and investment in these sectors will be given prominence.

The minister made this clear while hosting the Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and his delegation at the ministry’s quarters.

In March 2024, the ‘Cadre Harmonise,’ a unified tool for analyzing acute food and nutrition insecurity in the Sahel and West Africa Region, released a report projecting that approximately 4.8 million people in Northern Nigeria, including Borno, Adamawa, and other states, will face food insecurity during the peak of the 2024 lean season that is from June to August.

The report attributed this situation to low harvests in 2023 caused by dry spells, coupled with high food prices and ongoing insecurity.

This pressing concern has prompted the federal government to prioritise food security.

At the conference room of the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, delegates from the Ministry of Food Security of Saudi Arabia converged to strenghten collaborations.

Nigeria’s minister emphasised the country’s commitment to working with the oil rich nation, as he outlines the inputs they have made to foster food security including infusing mechanization into farming activities

Discussions included requests for access to the Middle Eastern country’s agricultural market, with a focus on facilitating trade in crops like cashew and maize.

Nigeria’s business community hopes to sustain this engagement with counterparts from Saudi Arabia, as it seeks favorable outcomes.