By Daniel Tyokua
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has recorded over 30 per cent improvement in food security across the territory.
During the October 2022 cycle of cadre harmonise food and Nutrition Security analysis report, indications showed that there was a significant reduction in the number of food insecure households from 349, 876 in October, 2021 to 233, 233 at November, 2022.
Speaking on the report, Mallam Abubakar Ibrahim, Mandate Secretary for FCT Agriculture & Rural Development Secretariat said the tempo of its support programmes are of help to the people and will be given more attention.
Ibrahim attributed the achievement to the programmes of the Agriculture and Rural Development supported by the Minister of State for FCT Dr Ramatu Aliyu who has ensured that the Implementation of programmes are tailored in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s agenda of revitalising the Agriculture sector.
“We will not be carried away by the encouraging report, and I want to assure you that under the able guidance of the Minister of FCT, Muhammad Bello and Minister of State, the Secretariat will redouble its efforts to deliver on its mandate of repositioning Agriculture sector.
“As you are aware, a lot is happening in the livestock sector as well as crop production. We have concluded plans to roll out massive support to boost dry season farming, while efforts that we are making to open up the Agricultural landscape and attract complimentary support of the private sector and donor agencies will be sustained.
“We will equally be giving greater attention to the issues of minimising post harvest losses due to poor storage technologies, environmental factors as well as pest infestation”
In a statement issued by Zakiri Aliyu, Deputy Director Information, FCT Agric Secretariat, the Mandate Secretary further expressed confidence that the programmes of the Secretariat will be geared towards enhancing the performance of the food sector, make Agriculture a viable venture for poverty reduction and wealth creation, emphasing on efforts being made to change the mindset of farmers to take Agriculture more as a business.
on the report, the FCT Cadre Harmonise (CH) Coordinator, Deputy Director Rural Economy and Finance Dr. Omole Olateju who represented the Secretariat at the meeting disclosed that the National Programme for Food Security (NPFS) of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development (FMARD) in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP) and other technical Partners, conduct a biannual food Security situation analysis in 26 states of the country and FCT adopting professional criteria to assess the progress made by states.
The report according to him revealed that as at November, 2022 the number of food insecure households stands at about 233,233 as against the October 2021 report of over 349,876, an improvement of over 33%.
