Ministers of Agriculture from D-8 countries have been asked to establish Seed Sector and Investment Funds to stimulate accelerated joint investment in fertilizer and seed production in their various countries.
At the forth D-8 Agricultural Ministerial Meeting on Food Security in Abuja on Friday, Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, pointed out that the promotion of all instruments that would boost agriculture productivity across the countries would help in the elimination of poverty.
The D-8 member countries are Nigeria, Turkey, Iran, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan.
The eight developing countries’ ministers are looking at four priority areas – agriculture productivity, manufacturing, trade and export.
The focus is on the meat, seed and fertilizer industries and scientific research and development.
Ministers and key players in the agricultural sector also addressed the challenges and task of putting food on the tables of citizens of member countries.
Their task, in terms of what must be done is made easier with the uniting factors – they make up 13 per cent of the world’s population and 60 per cent of the world’s Muslim population.
Their drive is also hinged on the fact that no country can assert itself or be termed truly sovereign unless it can feed itself.