The Lagos State Government (LASG) has restated its commitment to ensuring a conducive environment for agriculture ecosystem and food security to thrive in the state.
Ms. Abiola Olusanya, the State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, reiterated this at the Lagos Agrinnovation Hang Out 4.0 with the theme:” Technology and Funding Support.”
Olusanya expressed delight with the steady progress made with the Agrinnovation Club which started in 2023.
She said the initiative had encouraged high level of networking among members for mutual benefits and overall good of the state.
Olusanya described the Agrinnovation Club as a group of like-minds for seamless collaboration through a level playing field.
She urged the members not to see one another collaborators to provide solutions to the food challenges in the state.
She also announced plans to launch the Young Farmer’s Club in the state in October in line with the Renewed Hope Initiative of the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu.
Also, Dr Oluwarotimi Fashola, the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Agriculture and Food Systems, said Nigeria still has potential and better future to change the current narrative.
According to him, the people need to move out of their comfort zone, with lots of opportunities to make earnings in agriculture due to huge population so as to achieve their dream in the sector.
Mr Gbolabo Olaniwun, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Agriculture and Food Systems, urged Nigerians not to allow lack of funds to pose setback to achieving their dreams.
Olaniwun noted that setting up a business starts with having a vision and not necessarily a startup capital.
He also encouraged those in the agribusiness to consider genuine collaboration to maximize their potential.
According to report, the number of food-insecure Nigerians increased significantly, from 66.2 million in Q1 2023 to 100 million in Q1 2024, with 18.6 million facing acute hunger and 43.7 million Nigerians showing crisis-level or above crisis-level hunger coping strategies as of March 2024.
Headline inflation remains dominantly driven by food inflation, which rose to 40.9 percent year-on-year, up from 40.7 percent in May 2024 and significantly higher than 25.3 percent in June 2023.
Food insecurity is closely related to socio-economic characteristics such as: poverty, low income, employment status, age, household size, level of education among others.
