The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) has introduced new incentives to boost the agricultural sector in the country, which is projected to generate about 21 million full-time jobs across Nigeria.
This was made known on Tuesday in Abuja by the Vice-President, Kashim Shettima, during the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) National and Sub-regional Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum.
He said, “Nigeria is open for business, and we are ready to partner with you. Let us work hand-in-hand to build a Nigeria and a subregion where no one goes to bed hungry, where rural communities are hubs of wealth creation, and where agriculture is the true foundation of our prosperity
“While securing national food and nutrition sufficiency, the vehicle to this future is the quality of policies we have chosen to prioritize.
“At the top of these interventions stands our National Development Plan (2021–2025), which has set forth ambitious but achievable targets.
“This blueprint seeks to lift 35 million Nigerians out of poverty, create 21 million full-time jobs in rural and agrarian communities, and secure national food and nutrition sufficiency through deliberate and strategic investments in agriculture.
“Nothing unifies humanity as much as hunger. It is the great equalizer that reveals our vulnerabilities and the shared fragility of our existence. Food is not merely a matter of survival; it is a matter of global security. We must facilitate access to land and resources for serious investors.
“We must drive mechanization to reduce drudgery and enhance productivity. We must strengthen the agricultural credit system to ensure capital flows to where it is needed most.”
Other dignitaries present were the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari; the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Sen. Atiku Bagudu; the Gambian Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Security, Dr. Demba Sabally; the FAO Representative in Nigeria and ECOWAS, Dr. Hussein Gadain; and others.