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Stakeholders in the agriculture sector have cautioned Nigeria against the growing dependence on foreign seeds, arguing that such could undermine the nation’s food sovereignty.
They said Nigeria should rather invest in local seed production, organic farming and household food cultivation.
The call was made on Friday in Abuja, during a World Food Day media briefing, where they urged Nigerians to take greater responsibility for food production through the ‘Let’s Go Planting’ initiative, organised by the Centre for Food Safety and Agricultural Research (CEFSAR), in conjunction with the Loveworld Ministry of Food Technology Sovereignty.
The Deputy Director of CEFSAR, Segun Adebayo, warned that a country could have food available for consumption but still lack food sovereignty if it depended heavily on external suppliers for the seeds required to sustain agricultural production.
“Everybody must eat. Food is not discriminatory. But we have to be very careful about what we eat because what we eat matters a great deal. Let’s Go Planting is not just a slogan; it is a call to action,” he said.
Also, the Director of the Department of Agriculture at the Loveworld Ministry of Food Technology and Sovereignty, Pastor Tom Obiazi, expressed concerns over the use of pesticides and other agricultural chemicals.
The chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Nutrition and Food Security, Chike Okafor, in his remarks, reaffirmed the legislature’s commitment to tackling malnutrition and strengthening the country’s food and nutrition security framework.
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