The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, has assured of President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to guaranteeing food security and the development of agribusiness.
The minister stated this during a dialogue at the ongoing US-Africa Business Summit, held in Dallas, Texas on the theme: “From Food Security to Thriving Agribusiness: The Case for a US-Africa Strategic Agribusiness Partnership.”
Tuggar disclosed that food security topped the list of President Tinubu’s eight-point agenda.
Also top on the list of the president’s priorities are poverty alleviation, growth, job, creation, access to capital, inclusivity, rule of law and fighting corruption.
He also disclosed that the government was focusing on the provision of planting materials and all year-round farming as well as establishing agro-processing zones in the country.
On the challenges of power and its implications for food security, Tuggar said: “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed the 2023 Electricity Act deregulating electricity generation, transmission and its distribution.
He added that Nigeria had empowered states, individuals and corporations to generate, transmit and distribute power proportionately.
“At the moment, we are expanding oil and gas pipeline Network, the South-North AKK Project, the East West/Ob/Ob 3 Gas Pipeline Project and many more. We are also expanding captive or embedded, solar off-grid, power supply and domestication of photovoltaic panel production,” he said.
“I urge you to have a look at NASENI, as well as Sun Africa, which has $2.4 billion U.S funding,” he said.
Tuggar added that Nigeria was keen on attracting direct foreign investments to facilitate economic growth and development of the country.
He enjoined potential investors in the agriculture value chain seeking land for investment in the sector to follow the right channels to avoid complications resulting from doing so through the wrong channels.
Stressing that the Nigerian Constitution is designed to protect citizens from being disenfranchised by land grabbers, the Minister said, there was a simple but necessary documentation process to protect everyone.
