Gloria Akobundu, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), African Union Development Agency-New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD) Nigeria, claims that the AU agency supports the goals of President Bola Tinubu’s administration regarding food systems.
AUDA-NEPAD held a high-level meeting on “Attracting investments in Land Restoration, Food Systems, and Rural Transformation in Africa” on the fringes of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, where Akobundu made this statement.
According to the UN correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the AUDA-NEPAD Nigeria Secretariat coordinated the event with its continental counterpart, AUDA-NEPAD Continental.
We are quite delighted that President Tinubu has chosen food systems and education as priorities for his aims and his fantastic vision for Nigeria and Africa.
“At the Africa Union Development Agency, our primary responsibility is to advance the leaders’ vision, see that it is carried out, and provide feedback.
Therefore, we are really grateful to have him as our president and leader. We are grateful for his enthusiasm, commitment, and drive to building a stable and prosperous economy in Nigeria, with spillover benefits for other African nations.
Therefore, she said, “coming here today on Global Financing for Food Systems is very welcoming to development for the country and it’s in line with Tinubu’s vision to achieve food security, as well as in line with African Union agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”.
AUDA-NEPAD Nigeria’s National Coordinator, Akobundu, stated that the organisation was appreciative of the Nigerian government’s dedication and support.
“Education and food become top objectives and the cornerstone of development, and there is no question that if they are accomplished, they will reduce insecurity, generate jobs, guarantee exports, increase our GDP, and significantly boost the economy of our nation.
As you can see, we have development partners, therefore it’s a positive development. They have been cooperating with us and have shown a lot of interest. They are content with the Nigerian administration, she remarked.
She claims that because President Tinubu pledged to remove all obstacles to the achievement of these initiatives, the partners are satisfied with the objectives set and the policies.
“We are working together with the Continental Secretariat to activate development partners and to market, inform, and educate the international community on the priorities of the Nigerian government and of Africa as a whole.
“Also, to attract investors and ensure that investors come into partnership with Nigeria in every sector of the economy, following the vision of our leader, President Bola Tinubu,” added Akobundu.
In an earlier part of her lecture, she briefed the audience on the Nigerian smallholder farmers’ project, which aims to strengthen local farmers’ capacity and raise their contribution to the nation’s food supply and better nutrition.
“AUDA-NEPAD started the research as a reaction to the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
More than 20,000 smallholder farmers from 22 different states in Nigeria have signed up for the programme and been organised into cooperatives to make it easier for them to access financing, she said.
She claims that both Goal 2 of the UN SDGs and the Zero Hunger Policy of AU Agenda 2063: “The Africa We Want” are supported by the project.
“By 2030, it aspires to eradicate all types of hunger and malnutrition and guarantee that everyone, especially children, has access to enough food throughout the year.
“The smallholder farmers’ project also serves as a vehicle for the restoration of one million hectares of degraded land in Nigeria,” she added. (NAN)
