Sanwo-Olu Launches 5-Year Agricultural And Food Security Roadmap

Read the press release below...

 

I am excited to make history with you all today as we launch Lagos State’s 5-Year Agricultural and Food Security Roadmap.

At the inception of this administration in May 2019, we identified food security as a major policy thrust of this Government and a key component of our T.H.E.M.E.S Agenda. This 5-year Agricultural Roadmap has been designed in line with that Agenda, to reform, transform, and maximize the potential of Lagos State’s Agricultural Sector.

As you all know, Lagos State with a population of 22 million people is Nigeria’s commercial capital but it has the smallest landmass among the 36 States of the Federation. We, therefore, rely on massive food importation from neighbouring States to sustain the food requirements of our teeming population.

We have had to mutually collaborate with other States, to ensure food sustenance in our State - an approach that resonates with global best practices and enables optimal levels of planning, advocacy, funding, and collaboration for agricultural development.

However, we cannot continue to rely exclusively on such alliances. The time is right for us to unlock our immeasurable agricultural potential through the implementation of a 5-year roadmap that will lead to wealth generation, value creation, food security, the industrialization of our agricultural sector and the entrenchment of inclusive socio-economic development.

As a visionary Government, we are committed to optimally developing our potential in food production. The adverse effects of the coronavirus pandemic on food security have necessitated immediate action on ensuring food security for all Lagosians.

With the human and capital resources at our disposal, we should be able to feed ourselves (and even possibly the Nation) by becoming self-sufficient in food production and supply, and engender sustainable growth through the development of the agricultural sector.

The first step towards achieving this is the preparation of a Five-year Agricultural and Food Security Roadmap. Let me, at this juncture, appreciate the leadership of the Ministry of Agriculture for making that promise a reality.

The focus of the 5-Year Agricultural and Food Security Road Map is the development of agricultural value chains where Lagos State has competitive and comparative advantages to enhance the State’s self-sufficiency in food production from 18% to 40% over the next five years, and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Lagos State.

In order to successfully implement our 5-year roadmap, we will take a cue from other economies that have achieved self-sufficiency in food production. We will also aim to put the private sector at the heart of our vision for food security in Lagos State, with government as enabler and catalyst.

We are cognizant of the fact that we must formulate policies that can encourage private sector investment in agriculture and we must provide robust market information systems for Agricultural Value Chain actors, for adequate planning and the circumvention of risks and uncertainties.

Our strategies for sustainable Agricultural Development shall focus on the following three (3) pillars:

Growing the upstream sector through interventions by leveraging technologies that are capable of lowering the cost of production of value chains (Fisheries, Poultry, Piggery, Rice, Vegetables and Coconut) with support from donor agencies.

ii. Growing the midstream and downstream sectors (value addition involving: processing, handling, storage, cold chain, packaging, utilization and commercialization) of all important agricultural value chains by leveraging on the huge market with support from donor agencies.

iii. Improving private sector participation by developing and initiating policies that will encourage more private investment in agriculture. This will include linking the private sector with business-friendly credits.