The President of the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC), Abimbola Olashore, has called for a costed and time-bound National Food Security Strategy with enforceable implementation frameworks. He made the call at the NBCC's Agriculture and Agro-Allied Summit, themed "Ensuring Food Security in Nigeria: Innovations, Investments and Policy for a Resilient Future." Olashore stressed that without strong policy, innovation and investment would not scale, stating, "all the funding and technology in the world will dissipate like water in dry sand." He identified key reform areas including access to agricultural finance, land use systems, post-harvest loss reduction, and agro-processing capacity.
Olashore highlighted Nigeria's potential, citing its arable land, youthful population, and entrepreneurial energy, but noted persistent barriers to food security. He urged expansion of Nigeria's agro-export footprint and deeper integration into global value chains. John Alamu, Group Managing Director of Johnvents Group Limited, advocated for climate-smart agriculture using drought-tolerant seeds, precision irrigation, and agro-meteorological advisory services. Alamu emphasized that public funding alone cannot drive transformation, calling for blended finance combining public, development, and private capital.
He described post-harvest losses as a policy failure, not just a logistical issue, and called for investment in rural roads, cold chains, warehousing, and market information systems. Dr. Olayiwole Onasanya, Chief Consulting Officer at Shakwol Consulting Services and former Permanent Secretary in Lagos State's Ministry of Agriculture, urged collaboration between federal, state, and local governments with private actors to align food system policies. Onasanya said actionable initiatives can curb rising food prices and shortages, advising government to improve security in farming areas and ensure subsidies reach real farmers through transparent systems. He recommended privatizing input and mechanization distribution.
Olashore demands binding policy frameworks while admitting past strategies were mere "elegant documents," exposing a cycle of planning without execution. Onasanya calls for subsidy reforms even as he references a system he once served in. Alamu labels post-harvest losses a policy failure, yet operates in the same environment he critiques. The summit's proposals repeat long-standing recommendations without explaining why previous ones failed.
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