• Veterinarians demand N200,000 minimum wage

The Federal Government has unveiled a N250 billion financing window for smallholder farmers to boost food production. It said the fund was in addition to the N1.5 trillion recapitalisation of the Bank of Agriculture (BOA).

Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, while speaking yesterday in Kaduna at the 47th National Council on Agriculture and Food Security (NCAFS) with the theme, “Food Sovereignty and Food Security in the era of renewed hope, explained that the government had embarked on series of reforms and financing initiatives to fast-track Nigeria’s path to food sovereignty and agricultural transformation,

He highlighted other programmes being implemented by the current administration to boost food production, including the Renewed Hope Agricultural Mechanisation Programme and the Dry Season Initiative for all-year-round farming on 500,000 hectares.

The minister stated that the government was working to make farm inputs more accessible and affordable, provide gender-responsive extension services, and offer access to credit and inputs, as well as training programmes on climate-smart farming techniques and mechanisation.

He said the government had also adopted the “Every Home a Garden” Initiative of the First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, to encourage gender inclusion and household food production.

MEANWHILE, veterinarians have demanded a minimum salary of N200,000 from private hospitals and clinics nationwide. The animal doctors made the demand during the 61st yearly National Congress and AGM of the Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA) in Jalingo, Taraba state.

The congress, in a communiqué signed by the NVMA President, stressed that to ensure professional equity, they have approved a minimum salary of N200,000 for veterinarians employed in private hospitals and clinics nationwide.

They emphasised the central role veterinarians play in national health and food systems, calling for reforms in animal health governance, strengthened food safety, and elevated professional standards across the country.

The three-day event, themed “Animal Health, Food Safety and Security: Ensuring a Healthy and Productive Nigeria,” brought together hundreds of delegates, including veterinary experts, researchers,  policymakers, private sector players and students, to rethink the future of livestock management and public health.