Nigeria, South Africa To Combat Poverty Using Agriculture – Envoy

The head of Mission, Republic of South Africa in Nigeria, Mr Lulu Louis Mnguni has disclosed that Nigeria and South Africa need to intensify their partnership in agriculture to address the challenges of poverty, hunger and unemployment. He said this at the third convocation lecture of Landmark University, Omu-Aran, Kwara State.

In his lecture titled: “Sustainable Agricultural Development through Agricultural Value Chains – The African Imperative”  Mnguni said that agriculture remained the only way to address and add values to the socio-economic development of the two nations.

“Agriculture is a major tool to address hunger, poverty and joblessness and that is the reason the two nations have taken agriculture as a main priority to improve the socio-economic lives of their people and move the nations forward,” he said.

Mnguni lauded the present administration of President Jacob Zuma of South Africa, the immediate past president of Nigeria, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, and President Muhammadu Buhari for taking agriculture as a serious programme.

He said that the development had continued to provide job opportunities and create wealth in the two nations. He added that the infrastructure development of the two nations would be enhanced to ease the transportation of farm produce to intended markets for the sustainability and growth of agricultural value chains of the two nations.

The envoy noted that the Nigerian government had been working with the people of South Africa since the days of apartheid, adding that the relationship would continue as part of efforts to improve the economy of the two nations.

Meanwhile, South African agricultural activist, Dr Brylyne Chistunge, canvassed for  a community-managed farming  as a value chain agricultural practice with potential to reduce poverty in Africa.