Lagos Government Addresses Food Crisis with Name Change and New InitiativesLagos Government Addresses Food Crisis with Name Change and New Initiatives In response to rising food prices, the Lagos State Government has renamed its Ministry of Agriculture to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Systems. This move aims to improve food management and establish a sound reserve system. Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems Abisola Olusanya explained that the ministry will now have three departments: Livestock Services, Agricultural Engineering, and Safety and Quality Control of Agricultural Products. Key initiatives include: * Construction of a cattle feed factory to support livestock production * Acquisition of tractors and implements for mechanization * Establishment of the Produce Safety and Quality Control Department to ensure food safety * Harmonization of farmers’ databases to provide targeted support The government is also leveraging partnerships to boost food production and reduce prices. The Middle-level Agro produce platform in Mushin has facilitated over 918 million naira in food transactions, providing valuable data on market trends. Olusanya emphasized the importance of supporting food clusters to increase production and reduce prices. The state plans to strengthen its upstream capacity by expanding processing facilities. In addition, the government is exploring fair distribution of food aid to assist the needy population. These measures aim to address the current food crisis and ensure food security in Lagos in the years to come.
The Lagos State Government is taking steps to address rising food prices and establish a sound reserve management system in the state.
This is a result of the name change from the Ministry of Agriculture to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Systems.
Speaking during the official rebranding of the ministry, Abisola Olusanya, Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, said it was important to evaluate the activities of the ministry and Periscope to improve performance in managing the current food crisis and ensuring food security in Lagos.
Olusanya said food production is a whole system that involves numerous activities and the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is leveraging on quality partnerships to boost this process.
“Food, as we all know, is essentially at the heart of everything we do as a ministry, and encompasses various activities from storage, processing, logistics, preservation to packaging. Agriculture involves much more than just production,” she said.
“There is a lot going on behind the scenes to ensure that we can bring food prices down. Engaging food systems is a process to achieve this feat.”
The Commissioner also indicated that the ministry will have three departments: a department for livestock services, a department for agricultural engineering and a department for safety and quality control of agricultural products.
According to her, the state government is constructing a cattle feed factory and Lagos is not only known as a hub for food marketing but also a centre where livestock is sold, processed and consumed.
“We have already purchased tractors and other implements in 2021 during our Enterprise Activation Program. We have used them and we will add more to the fleet, and because of the partnership with the sister states,” the commissioner said.
“There will be much more investment in mechanization to increase crop production and that is why it was essential to set up the departments. The Produce Safety and Quality Control Department will help ensure the safety of the vast amount of food consumed in Lagos,” she added.
Olusanya stated that the five-year roadmap for agriculture and food systems launched in 2021 highlighted projects and programs that focused on issues such as domestic self-sufficiency, domestic partnership, storage processes and logistics capacity development, as well as a modern food market. He stressed that the state will continue to work in this direction in the future.
She added that the harmonization of farmers’ databases has helped immensely in providing adequate support to farmers in clusters, thereby increasing food production and reducing food prices.
“We have farmers who are involved in poultry farming, fisheries, vegetable farming, pig farming and rice farming because Lagos had a competitive advantage in this area. And when you look at the size of the population, you see that it is up to us to provide precise support. It would help us to engage the farmers and build their capacity.”
“What we want is to support the clusters where these farmers live in order to increase food production.
The Commissioner said the state is stronger in processing and marketing and needs to strengthen its upstream capacity where production takes place by expanding processing capacity, which can help reduce food prices across the country.
Speaking on the impact of the Middle-level Agro produce platform in Mushin area of the state, Olusanya indicated that in the last 40 market sales, the Food hub recorded transactions of food worth over 918 million naira with 339 vendors selling goods for free at the Hub. The data was retrieved seamlessly as the market is in a controlled environment.
“For the first time, we can provide data on the amount of specific foods that are coming into a market, we can tell you who is selling what, and we can give you a price for what they are selling. And to understand all of this, it actually helps to address the challenges that we are seeing everywhere. To ensure the quality, safety and pricing of food, a new department, Produce Safety and Quality Control, has been established to deliver value to the people of Lagos.”
She also spoke to journalists about the fair distribution of food aid to the needy population of the state, and other measures that need to be taken in the coming years.
