The Director General National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies, NILDS National Assembly, Professor Abubakar Olanrewaju Sulaiman has appealed to the Stakeholders in the Food and Nutrition Sub- sector to compliment government’s efforts to checkmate inflationary trend and hunger in the country.
Professor Sulaiman made the appeal in his speech to declare open “The Stakeholder Engagement Workshop on Policies for Food and Nutrition Security in Nigeria’ hosted by the NILDS.
He said the Collaboration between NILDS and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission is aimed at changing the narratives in Food availability and affordability in Nigeria by engendering appropriate policy Instrument through dialogue.
He noted that despite government efforts at all levels to address the lingering challenges, data from the Global Food Security index ranks Nigeria poorly in affordability, availability, quality and safety.
The Director General who blamed low Food Production and huge losses of investment on the food and nutrition sector on Climate Change, post- harvest losses and external shocks challenged participants at the workshop to predict Optimal Policy paths for the future.
While raising concerns over National inflation accounting for 50% rate which is above 30% he said malnutrition rates and stunted growth amongst children have continued to increase due to lack of dietary diversity.
On his part, the Chairman House Committee on Sustainable Development Goals, Rep Wale Raji thanked NILDS and its Collaborator for organising the workshop to address food and nutrition insecurity in the country.
Rep Raji who said the workshop will mark his last engagement as chairman House Committee on SDGs due to changes in the composition of the committee assured that the Green Chamber is available to lend Legislative support necessary for the realisation of food and nutrition security in the country.
In her remarks, the Project Officer, Economics of the Food System, Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, Lara Cockx expressed satisfaction with the presence of stakeholders who care about food and nutrition sector.
Cockx thanked the management of the NILDS for the collaboration with the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, which she said culminated into the successful hosting of the workshop.
The representative of the Minister of Agriculture who is the Director Nutrition and Food Safety, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, FMAFS Nuhu Kilishi said holistic apprroach is required to address the problems facing Food and Nutrition sub- sector.
He therefore appealed to Stakeholders to support government’s efforts to raise the bar of food sufficiency in the country.
Goodwill messages were delivered which dovetailed into critical overview of Food and Nutrition Security in Nigeria during the technical session that was witnessed by the Director General, Professor Abubakar Olanrewaju Sulaiman.
The workshop was attended by the Management Staff of the NILDS and Stakeholders drawned from the Ministries of Health and Social Welfare, Agriculture, Budget and National Planning.
