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The newly inaugurated Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari has revealed the target of his Ministry on assumption of office.

He said that the aim of his team is not only to secure and feed Nigerians but also to export food which the country has the potential to achieve.

The Minister stated this on Monday during a short reception organised by the Ministry for him and the Minister of State, Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi.

Kyari said Nigeria is faced with hunger and which is largely caused by flood, insecurity but according to him, with concerted efforts the challenges will be surmounted.

“We know the challenge that we face now, hunger is one of the big problems that we have in this country. When we say hunger, it also means food and there are challenges to food security, insecurity is one of them, flooding is another, and there are other issues.

“For me and for my colleague the Minister of State and even state governors, the biggest hope that we have is the political will, driven by President Bola Tinubu.

“I think we have a big challenge but it is not insurmountable. Our target is not only to secure and feed the country but also to export food which we have that potential and it is just there.”

Also, the Governor of Borno State Professor Babagana Zulum who accompanied the Ministers to the Ministry said Nigeria needs a sustainable long and medium-term plan to address food insecurity.

He said the alternative the country has now is to invest in commercial agriculture and adopt modern agricultural techniques such as irrigation, green technology and others.

“What we are doing now, providing palliatives to Nigerians will never solve our problems because these are shorter terms solutions, we must look for medium and longer-term sustainable solutions that will address the problem of insecurity, food insecurity in Nigeria.

“Therefore the only alternative we have is to invest in commercial agriculture, modern agriculture, irrigated agriculture, green technology, emerging technology, and so on, that is the only solution. Our population is growing in quick geometrical ratio while our food supply is dwindling, unless something is being done, we shall never get rid of these problems,” Zulum said.