The Nigerian Agribusiness Group (NABG) has called for the adoption of climate smart agriculture to mitigate the climatic challenges facing the agricultural sector and the need to reduce greenhouse emission in the country.
The Director General of NABG Jafar Umar made the call yesterday in Abuja while delivering a speech at the validation of the Climate-Smart Agriculture Framework organized by NABG.
He said the significance of the framework cannot be overstated, considering the current challenges facing the agricultural sector.
According to him, while Nigeria strives for increased agricultural productivity and food security, the country is confronted by the harsh realities of climate change, which threatens not only crop yields but also the very fabric of agricultural heritage.
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He stated that Climate Smart Agriculture Framework addresses these challenges head-on and it underscores the imperative to mainstream resilient and regenerative agricultural practices into the national agenda.
“We recognize that the adoption of these practices is not merely an option but a necessity if we are to ensure the sustained productivity of our farms and safeguard the livelihoods of our farmers,” Umar said.
The Chairman Administrative Board of NABG, Arc Kabir Ibrahim, while speaking with journalists, said whatever is done at the event will be disseminated to all the farmers in the 774 local governments areas in Nigeria and the farmers will be taught in their own languages.
“This is a game changer for Nigeria and for the world because in African for instance, we have been claiming to be the giant. If we want to remain the giant, when our population increases, we must do precision agriculture because we not only need our population, we need to feed the people of Africa.
“There is a talk now that the African question is a very important one because there will be a lot of poverty if care is not taken, so you cannot sleep with your eyes closed in Nigeria here if there is no food in Africa.
“We must pay attention to what is happening, and we must not be in denial of climate change. We must be able to do precision agriculture to optimise our productivity so that we have sufficient food and food security in Nigeria and Africa,” Arc Ibrahim noted.
