The Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has been named as the chairman of the National Project Steering and Deployment Committee (NPSDC).
The committee’s mandate includes strengthening smallholder farmers’ capabilities towards productive land restoration amid COVID-19 in Nigeria.
The committee work also includes building resilient communities and ensuring food security in the nation.
The committee was set up as part of the national strategy to drive growth and accelerate the implementation of innovative projects to improve smallholder farmers’ capabilities in accordance with the National Development Plan of Nigeria. It would also ensure the application of a multi-sectoral approach for the deployment of innovative land restoration and energy access to accelerate food security, renewable energy access, land restoration, socio-economic impacts, climate resilience, create jobs, and improve the standard of living and human wellbeing.
The steering committee comprises the subnational governments of Nasarawa, Yobe, Bauchi, Kano, Kebbi, Ebonyi, Imo, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Ekiti, and Ondo.
The committee, which is to lead the national implementation of the Africa Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) initiatives on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also comprises federal government agencies like the Ministries of Education, Power, Environment, Budget, and National Planning, and Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority.
Other members include the Nigerian Farmers Association, Nigerian Women in Agriculture, Youth Initiative for Sustainable Agriculture, Central Bank of Nigeria, Development Bank of Nigeria, Bank of Agriculture, Nigeria Incentive-based Risk Sharing Systems for Agricultural Lending, and the Dangote Group.
