Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, on Monday in Rome, said that the government of President Bola Tinubu had raised more than $500 million for the restructuring of the country’s food system.
Shettima made this announcement during the UN Food Systems Summit in Rome, Italy, according to a statement released on Tuesday and signed by Olusola Abiola, the State House Director of Information for the Office of the Vice President. Shettima also stated that the summit’s objective was to reform Nigeria’s food systems.
The statement was titled, ‘Tinubu administration mobilizes half a billion dollars for Nigeria’s food system transformation – VP Shettima.’
Speaking at the event declared open by the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, the VP outlined Federal Government’s plans for the funds.
“They are set to be channeled towards innovation finance for food system transformation, the development of Nigeria’s agro value chain, and our Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones programs,” he said.
Shettima stated that the funds were secured through a combination of “domestic resources, multilateral development banks, international financial institutions, climate funds, and leading agro-businesses.”
“The VCDP is co-funded by the Nigerian government and the International Fund for Agricultural Development and has empowered vulnerable farmers and youth to engage in commercial partnerships with some of the biggest food processing and marketing firms in the world, such as OLAM, a world-leading agri-business company operating in over 60 countries with an annual revenue of about $39.8bn,” the Vice President added.
The Vice President also told his audience that in the wake of fuel subsidy removal in Nigeria, the government embarked on the immediate release of grains and fertilizer.
He added partly, “President Tinubu declared a state of emergency in food security and took it as a livelihood item within the National Security Council.”
