Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, said food security is a collective responsibility of all Nigerians.
He revealed that 50 out of 80 million hectares of arable land remain uncultivated, urging Nigerians to plant something.
He stated this while speaking with the Senate Press Corps in his office at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Abuja, on Monday.
The Minister said that out of the 8-point agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, food security is the most critical because of its multifaceted benefits.
He explained that some of the benefits are war against corruption because some people take to a corrupt way of life as a result of hunger, just as some others do as a result of poverty, which, in itself, can be substantially addressed by food security.
“When you secure their stomachs, the tendency for average Nigerians to resort to corruption or outright crime and criminalities would be reduced.
“Nigerians need to key into the policy by planting something wherever they live.
“Government is also determined to get a substantial part of the uncultivated hectares of land in the country cultivated.
“As it is presently, out of 70-80 million hectares of arable land in the country, only 34 million hectares are cultivated, meaning that there is more than enough uncultivated arable land for government and Nigerians to explore for farming and, by extension,, ensuring food security in the country,” he said.