For the country to be self sufficient in food production, more energy should be deployed by the government to agriculture, the outgoing Country Director, the United Nations Development Programme in Nigeria, Ms. Ade Lekoetje, has said.
To achieve this, Lekoetje called for improved partnership between the Federal Government and reputable international agricultural agencies.
She spoke in Abuja at a special dinner organised in her honour by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Lekoetje, was quoted in a statement by the ministry as saying, “Agriculture is key and I always say that any nation that cannot feed itself is having a great problem. If the work we are doing with (the Federal Government’s) Agricultural Transformation Agenda would be about feeding Nigeria, then let’s do it with full energy.”
The UNDP director, however, expressed the belief that the partnership between the UNDP, Bank of Industry, and the United States Agency for International Development would bring some positive changes in the renewable energy sector in Nigeria.
“Already, with the BoI, we are using five states and we are going to introduce renewable energy in the production of centres for these five states,” she said.
In her remarks, the Permanent Secretary, FMARD, Mrs. Ibukun Odusote, said the dinner was a way of appreciating the support of Lekoetje as a country director who distinguished herself and meritoriously served the UNDP in various activities in Nigeria.
She said the UNDP had a long history of development interventions that cut across different phases of Nigeria’s national development, noting that under Lekoetje’s leadership, the organisation worked closely with other partners to address different challenges in the country.
