Declare ‘National Farmers Day’, Agricultural Stakeholders Ask FG

Nigeria joined the rest of the world to commemorate the 2023 World Hunger Day on Sunday May 28. Stakeholders including National Biotechnology Development Agency, NABDA, Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology, OFAB, and others, asked the Federal Government to declare ‘National Farmers Day’. They said this will be a special day to recognise and support farmers’ immense contributions to food production and job creation for Nigerians.

In a remark, the Regional Representative for West Africa, African Agricultural Technology Foundation, AATF, Dr Jean Baptiste, acknowledged the resilience and doggedness of farmers amid daunting challenges but still embarked on food production.

According to the Director General/Chief Executive Officer, CEO, National Biotechnology Development Agency, NABDA, Prof Abdullahi Mustapha, in a remark, said the World Hunger Day is to x-ray efforts in reducing hunger from different perspectives and proffer more solutions to ensure food availability. He said: “World Hunger Day” is observed on May 28th each year as an opportunity to raise awareness about the issue of hunger and food insecurity that affects millions of people around the world.

He noted that while there have been significant strides made in reducing hunger and malnutrition, there is still much work to be done. One way to address this issue is by supporting and recognising the contributions of smallholder farmers who grow crops and foods that are the backbone of the food systems in these countries.

Meanwhile, he explained that, “NABDA as an agency, responsible for the deployment of Biotechnology tools in the development of our Nation is doing everything possible to deploy the science of genetic modification technology to combat hunger, hidden hunger, and other forms of malnutrition”.

While explaining the objectives of the World Hunger Day, Director, Agricultural Biotechnology Department, National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) and Country Director, Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology, OFAB, Nigeria, Dr Rose Gidado, pointed out that, “The main objective of this initiative is to celebrate farmers in Nigeria, and at the same time use the event as a platform to launch a campaign for National Farmers Day in the country”.