NABG to deploy climate smart agric techniques in food production

To reduce the impact of climate change on food production, the Nigeria Agribusiness Group (NABG) has unveiled plans to deploy climate-smart agricultural techniques to boost food production in the country.

NABG, with support of the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, has been working on developing a National Framework for Climate-Smart Agriculture with the theme ‘Cleaner, safer, rewarding agriculture’ targeted towards efficient and effective use of land resources and modern farm technology.

The President, NABG, Emmanuel Ijewere while speaking at a two-day workshop in Abuja, emphasised that the Climate-Smart Agriculture project will bring about increased harvest and less input sustainability; improve quality soil; sustainable greenhouse gas levels; high production and falling cost, new methods on weather and harvest forecast, among others.

He stressed the need for Nigerian farmers to adopt Climate-Smart agriculture as a solution to crop cultivation, mitigating post-harvest losses, improving crop yields, restoring soil nutrients, and improving livestock farming amidst ravaging climate change impact on the ecosystem.

He further stated that the initiative championed by NABG is to ensure that a sustainable agricultural framework is established, which is inclusive and where Nigerian youths would have opportunity to get involved in food production.

Speaking on the current spate of insecurity, the NABG boss appealed to farmers not to relent in producing food for Nigerians, because Nigerians depend on them.

“Farmers should not allow insecurity to dampen their enthusiasm to produce food and reduce food insecurity in our country”, he said.

Director General of NABG, Dr Manzo Maigari, said it has become incumbent on all stakeholders to embrace climate-smart agriculture practice because of the value it adds to productivity and the potential to reduce the risks faced by farmers via climate change.

He mentioned that use of fertilizers, felling trees, burning grasses and trees, and others lead to disruption of the environment including saturation of carbon that causes climate change affecting farmers’ productivity.