Obasanjo wants importation of vegetables, fruits stopped

Former president Olusegun Obasanjo, has in Ibadan, convened a new initiative tagged ‘zero hunger’ to clearly articulate what the country needs to do to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs).  He also tasked the federal government to, as a matter of urgency, halt importation of vegetables, carrots, cucumber, lettuce and other fruits into […]

Former president Olusegun Obasanjo, has in Ibadan, convened a new initiative tagged ‘zero hunger’ to clearly articulate what the country needs to do to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs). 
He also tasked the federal government to, as a matter of urgency, halt importation of vegetables, carrots, cucumber, lettuce and other fruits into Nigeria.
Obasanjo bared his mind at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan at the inaugural meeting of the ‘Nigeria Zero Hunger Strategic Review’ Committee, comprising an assemblage of representatives of the World Food Program, African Development Bank, members of the Diplomatic Corps, captains of industry as well as technocrats drawn from both public and private institutions across the country.
Addressing the forum, Chief Obasanjo called for collective change of mind from all Nigerians, insisting that a multi-stakeholder and multi-dimensional approach was desirable to achieve the goal of a zero hunger nation by 2025 ahead of the 2030 deadline given by the United Nations.
The former president expressed worry that in spite of the present high rate of unemployment in Nigeria, the vegetables, cucumber, carrots, lettuce and other fruits being consumed in many hotels in the country were imported, saying that was not only disgraceful to the economic sense of the nation but also annoying.
While calling for enduring measures that would further encourage increased local investment in food production, Chief Obasanjo charged the authorities to stop importation of European vegetables and fruits without further delay, in the overall interest of Nigerians.
In their respective contributions, the representatives of the United Nations World Food Program, Stanlake Samkange and that of the African Development Bank, Chiji Ojukwu, pledged their determination to partner the initiative with a view to eradicate hunger in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.