The Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation has called for renewed collaboration with its Agriculture and Food Security counterpart toward achieving the nation’s food security mandate.

The permanent secretary of the water ministry, Shehu Shinkafi, made the call at the opening of the 30th meeting of the National Technical Committee on Water Resources and Sanitation in Abuja on Monday.

He spoke on the theme of the meeting: “People, Planet and Prosperity: Promoting Water Governance for National Food Security.”

Mr Shinkafi said the collaboration was needed against the backdrop of the recently declared state of emergency on food security by the federal government.

According to him, matters relating to food and water availability and affordability have been placed within the purview of the National Security Council.

He said that it was imperative to engage the security architecture to protect farms and farmers and the commitment to cultivate 500,000 hectares of farmland nationwide.

“To align with the state of emergency on food security, the ministry has introduced three flagship programmes: Water for Expanded Irrigated Agriculture Programme, Partnership for Expanded Irrigation Programme and River Basin Strategy for Poverty Alleviation (RB-SPA).

“Implementation of these programmes has already begun, marked by the launch of the dry season farming covering 120,000 hectares of land in Jigawa State in November 2023,” he said.

Mr Shinkafi said the initiative would create between five million and 10 million jobs within the agricultural value chain, adding that it would address the rising cost of food and its impact on citizens.

A water resources expert, Inuwa Kuta, said addressing water governance challenges in food security would be possible when water resources management is ensured in all sectors of the economy.

Shubham Chaudhuri, the Country Director of the World Bank, highlighted national food security as a priority of the current administration.

He, however, acknowledged the complexity of achieving the target solely at the federal level and urged full participation from states.

Mr Chaudhuri said that with an active portfolio exceeding $2 billion in concessionary finances exclusively for the water sector, the World Bank had been collaborating closely with Nigeria, specifically the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation.

He mentioned the Transforming Irrigation Agenda in Nigeria as a supported project, saying that it was designed to actualise national food security through irrigation and drainage development.

(NAN)