The Federal Government of Nigeria is set to back plans by the UN World Food Programme (UN –WFP) to create a food hub in the country.
Zainab Ahmed, Minister of State for Budget and National Planning stated this in Abuja in a statement signed by Salisu Haiba, Assistant Director (Press) in the ministry.
Ahmed said this while responding to the presentation made by the Executive Director of UN-WFP, Ertharin Cousin, on the organisation’s plans and activities in Nigeria during a visit to her office in Abuja.
The minister said the plan for food hub in Nigeria as presented by the UN body was a good opportunity for business in Nigeria and African region.
She said the hub would provide jobs and increase revenue for farmers in Nigeria as they will have to stock up their food stores.
In addition, she described the expansion of the Cash Based Transfer (CBT) from 160,000 to one million people by the WFP in 2016 as commendable and unprecedented.
Speaking in the same vein, the Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, said the country was working frantically to provide grains for Nigerians and other parts of Africa that have relied on the country for grains.
Ogbeh also said government was collaborating with research institutions to provide solutions to curb the challenges facing Nigerian products in the market like the toxicity of the products and poor quality.
