The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) has charged Nigerian engineers to actively deploy their expertise, creativity and technological ingenuity towards transforming the nation’s agricultural sector and improving the national quest to achieve zero hunger.

It described food as fundamental to human dignity, national stability, public health and social prosperity, warning that a nation that cannot guarantee adequate, affordable and nutritious food for its citizens remains vulnerable to economic hardship and social instability.

Speaking at the Abuja Branch Engineering Week of the Abuja branch of the NSE, the body’s president, Ali Rabiu, said the theme, “Engineering Resilience: Transforming Agricultural Value Chain Technological Integration in Modern Agriculture for National Food Security in Nigeria – Engineering the Path to Zero Hunger,” was relevant to one of the most fundamental imperatives of national development.

Rabiu, who was represented by the Deputy President, Valerie Agberagba, charged engineers to bring their professional knowledge to bear on the transformation of agriculture through innovative, practical and locally adaptable technologies.

He stressed that the professionals should deploy engineering innovation to develop appropriate mechanisation technologies, smart irrigation systems, renewable energy solutions, efficient storage facilities, cold-chain infrastructure, digital agricultural platforms and modern processing systems capable of reducing post-harvest losses and increasing the value of agricultural production.