Akinwumi Adesina, the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), has stated that with technology, Nigeria can boost its food security.
In a statement addressed to journalists on the backdrop of his newly-acquired honourary doctorate degree, Adesina was quoted to have said while other sectors of the economy are leveraging technology for growth, agriculture should not be left behind.
According to the AfDB chief, “Technology drives the world. As Minister of Agriculture, I turned to the power of technology, mobile phones, to provide 15 million farmers with access to improved seeds and fertilizers, with a view to ending corruption in the sector.”
He added: “It was revolutionary – the first, not only in Africa but in the world. It helped Nigeria produce a record additional 21 million metric tons of food. It boosted food security and expanded wealth for farmers, from the northeast, northwest, north-central, southwest, east, and south-south of the country. It brought transparency and accountability in the use of public funds.”
Exemplifying his point, Adesina cited the growth of FinTech firms and the industry itself.
“Several Nigerian Fintech entrepreneurs are already using tech to deliver digital payment systems with three of Nigeria’s fintech (Intersswitch, Pay Pal and Flutterwave) reaching the $1 billion mark. Adesina said African Fintechs raised $1.4 billion in 2019, three times what was raised in 2019, and in 2021 they raised about $5 billion,” he was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives at the plenary, on Wednesday, January 2, 2022, passed for second reading a bill seeking to alter Part 1 of the Fifth Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 to expand the scope of code of conduct for public officers to facilitate realisation of food and economic security.
Leading the debate on its general principles, the sponsor Hon. Balarabe Shehu Kakale, explained that the bill sought to expand the scope of agricultural production in the country.
The lawmaker argued that the constitution only allowed farming and a lot of Nigerians think by the 21st-century, farming is restrictive and doesn’t carry the whole view and intentions of the current policy of government in food production.
