Report from development partners in the country shows that 31.8m Nigerians are suffering from acute food insecurity compounded with malnutrition among women and children in the Country.
Some development partners including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), GAIN, GIZ, Agsys, made this disclosure in Abuja, at the Joint review meeting on implementation of the Food systems in Nigeria.
The stakeholders advocated for a multi -sectoral approach in tackling food scarcity, as this is imperative, in addressing all the challenges simultaneously, Stating that the civil society Organizations including the Private sector must be involved to extend the reach of nutrition efforts.
The partners however, pledged their unalloyed support to transform the food system in Nigeria.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Dr. Emeka Obi who declared the meeting opened, said the objective of the meeting was to discuss the status of the implementation and for the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to make presentations in addition to giving updates on the measures implemented for food transformation pathways, in Nigeria.
He appreciated the support of development partners, particularly GIZ and others for their dedication in moving the food system forward in Nigeria while affirming that their collective efforts would continually lead to innovative solutions that would strengthen the food systems.
The National Convener of Food Systems, in Nigeria and Director of Social Development, Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Dr. Sanjo Faniran, who commended the efforts of all stakeholders, said the review meeting was actually to identify gaps, successes and offer recommendations as well as peer review, among MDAs.
The forum featured presentation of papers on Overview of Food Systems Transformation, Implementation Strategy, Enhancing Multi-Sectoral Collaboration, Financing and Resource Mobilization for Food systems Transformation among others
A total of 24 MDAs attended the review meeting.
