By Victoria Onehi
The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, has called on schools to key into the initiative of young farmers club to enhance productivity, inclusivity, and food security in the country.
The Minister stated this during the meeting with the delegation from the Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Dutse Makaranta, to the Hon. Minister’s Office in Abuja recently.
He revealed that the essence of the young farmers club was to deepen the already existing agricultural practices within the school environment such as poultry, fish farming, vegetables garden, ruminant among others
He pointed out that the decision for the adoption was taken when Ministry officials visited the school as part of the activities to mark the 2024 World Food Day Celebration.
He added the First Lady of the Federation, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu is promoting initiatives of the Young Farmer’s Club through her “Every Home a Garden Initiative” designed to encourage first time female farmers to cultivate home gardens with the opportunity to win a substantial Twenty Million Naira prize, of which the Ministry is in partnership.
Sen. Abdullahi in a statement revealed that the Ministry through the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria, ARCN, will soon kick start the process of adopting GGSS Dutse under the “Adopted School programme”.
He further revealed that the Ministry is ready to support the initiative and advocate for more funding as food security is a key priority of the present administration.
“Government is stepping up production and means to ensure that food is accessible and affordable to Nigerians and with proper planning and programming, we can drive the vision where schools will begin to eat what they produce.” the Minister said.
Earlier in her remarks, the Principal of the School, Mrs. Fatima Mohammad stated that the purpose of their visit was to express gratitude to the federal government for deeming the school fit for the initiative, stressing that the Minister’s presence at the school will remain memorable.
She pointed out that last year, the school established the Trade and Entrepreneurship Department where Agriculture was made mandatory for every staff to use their backyard for cultivation of crops, fisheries and vegetables for easy access to food supplies. According to her, all these are to ensure that the girl child stands out and excels in all ramifications.
Among the delegation was the Deputy National Women Leader of the All Progressive Congress (APC) Hajia Zainab Ibrahim, amongst others.
