The Oyo State government has reiterated its commitment to support farmers and youths in the state, in a bid to achieve food sustenance and sufficiency.
This was contained in a statement by the Honourable Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Honourable Adeniyi Adebisi, to commemorate the World Food Day today.
He noted that the Oyo State government, under the leadership of Engineer Seyi Makinde, will leave no stone unturned in order to bring the theme for this year’s World Food Day, which is ‘Our Actions Are Our Future; Better Production, Better Nutrition, Better Environment and Better Life’ to reality.
Adebisi therefore reassured Oyo State farmers and other stakeholders in the agriculture sector of an enabling environment government is creating to improve the sector, adding that doing so will 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 has 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, FAO, of the United Nations, as an international day for the eradication of poverty, in which Nigeria is a member.
The statement further explained that the main objective of the celebration is to heighten public awareness on the problems of hunger, malnutrition, and poverty, as well as profer solution to problems of agriculture and food production.
In Nigeria, organizations and individuals involved in feeding programs connect with other stakeholders in food production, agro-allied industries, wholesalers and community based organizations to address food security challenges during this celebration.
