According to the federal government, the National Agribusiness Policy Mechanism will be launched to improve agricultural output and stabilise food prices.

Vice President Kashim Shettima revealed this on Friday, April 25th, at the Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit Steering Committee meeting at the Presidential Villa.

According to Shettima, the program would use real-time data analytics to coordinate agricultural initiatives at all government levels.

“The Green Imperative Project (GIP) is an idea whose time has come. It has been incubating for several years and is now coming to fruition; we must get it right.

“We have had many interventions in this country in the past. We must make this work, and the states will drive the process,” he said.

Shettima recalled that President Bola Tinubu approved N15 billion for the National Emergency Management Agency to prepare for floods as the rainy season kicks in.

“This is one of the first proactive decisions by the government to prepare for the flooding season,” the Vice-President noted.

Earlier,  the President of Agriculture’s Technical Assistant, Marion Moon, clarified that NAPM would tackle issues such as excessive food prices and agricultural yields that are 60% below average worldwide.

Moon, who is also PFSCU’s Executive Secretary, says the NAPM pilot survey has been completed in 13 states, and the full launch is scheduled for June 2025.

According to her, NAPM was created to address food inflation, ineffective subsidies, and antiquated farming methods. It is backed by data analytics partnerships and a digital platform that is now being developed.

”This will give the country a unified framework to optimise public spending and drive sustainable rural development.”

For his part, Gov. Umar Namadi of Jigawa State said the initiative would improve food security in the country.

“The aim is to ensure food security in the country. As of today, vital issues leading to food security in this country have been discussed.

”The green imperative project is very important, and by the time this project comes on board, it will certainly boost agriculture,” he said.

Source: Punch

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