FG sets to combat food scarcity

THE Federal Government has taken bold steps to support National Association of Potatoes Farmers (POFAN) and Oil Palm Association of Nigeria with scientific and technical support needed to improve their productions, which would enable them meet up with the demand of local industries and for exports, as part of its determination to ensure food security in Nigeria.

Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, who made this disclosure in Abuja, while playing host to the executives of the two associations, assured them of the Federal Government’s support and the need for them to embrace the use of improved varieties of potato and oil palm seeds in addition to the adoption of the used of organic fertilisers and improved planting techniques.

He noted that agriculture is 90 per cent scientific in the food chain process, adding that the National Research and Innovation Council (NRIC), through its platform would ensure that there is food security in the country.
“Oil palm is of very important economic value because of the many resources that are associated with it in the production process,” he noted.

Earlier, the National President of the POFAN, Chief Daniel Okafor, stated that the aim association was to stimulate increased private sector investment in the establishment of potato industries and the promotion of the special type of sweet potato known as Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato (OFSP) essentially for its health, economic and wealth benefits.

According to him, the potato farmers want the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology to provide technical support to the organisation and assist in designing and fabrication of bakery equipment, which will be distributed to the 774 Local Government areas of the federation for the establishment of Oranged-Fleshed sweet potato bread/other confectionary such as cake, biscuit, cookies, chips, chin-chin, doughnut, puff-puff, meat pie and starch industry.

Also, the President of the Oil Palm Association of Nigeria, Igwe Hilary Chukwuemeka, appealed to the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment and Federal Ministry of Agriculture to bring all the state governors of the 24 Oil producing states together to fashion out a master plan on oil palm production.

“If we go back to Oil Palm production, Nigeria will be stronger than before, because the by-product of oil palm is more than 360,” he noted.