Oxfam, an International NGO, has organised a three-day training workshop for stakeholders on food and nutrition security in Plateau.
The training, which began on Wednesday in Jos, was organised in collaboration with the Plateau Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning.
Speaking at the event, Dr Vincent Ahonsi, the Country Director of Oxfam in Nigeria, said that the exercise aimed at promoting the domestication of the National Policy on food and nutrition security in the state.
Represented by Dr Jacob Fintan, Ahonsi said that the exercise would build the capacity of the Food and Nutrition Security Steering Committee in the state on the national policy on food and nutrition security.
“We are here to promote deliberate efforts toward domesticating or adoption of the national policy on food and nutrition security in Plateau.
“This training is to build the capacity of the state steering committee on food and nutrition security on the national policy on food and nutrition security.
“This meeting will enable participants jointly to develop a strategic multi-sectorial annual operational plan on food and nutrition.
“This is for improved coordination of activities in a way that addresses the food and nutrition needs of the rural people for the year 2022,” he said
Ahonsi explained that the training would enable participants to highlight the importance of investing in agricultural resilience programmes for sustainable agric-food system in the state.
He added that knowledge gained from the training would check the negative impacts of climate change on rural agricultural resilience framework and the development and implementation of state agricultural resilience programme.
Declaring the workshop open, Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Mr Sylvester Wallangko, described the exercise as apt.
Represented by Mr Ibrahim Garba, Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Wallangko said the training was part of the measures taken to address food shortage and malnutrition in the state.
“We have brought these key stakeholders here to make inputs toward addressing some of the challenges facing us as a state.
“These stakeholders would be trained with a view to developing an annual multi-sectorial plan on food and nutrition in accordance with the national plan already drafted by the Federal Government,” he said
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the training had representatives of Ministries Departments and Agencies, Civil Society Organisations, religious and traditional rulers, security agencies, among others, in attendance. (NAN)