The federal government is dedicated to enacting the necessary changes in the food system to accomplish the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

On Sunday, during the conclusion of a two-day retreat in Uzanu, Etsako East LGA of Edo State, the Permanent Secretary of the Budget and National Planning, Anako Nebeolisa, expressed this commitment. The retreat brought together zonal permanent secretaries, directors, and management staff of the ministry.

As a precursor to the upcoming global review in July, Mr. Nebeolisa emphasized that the retreat was organized to focus on the implementation trajectory of the pathways. The primary goal of the retreat, he stated, was to establish a coordinated approach for implementing food systems transformation pathways.

Additionally, it served as an opportunity to brainstorm strategies to ensure a successful participation of the country in the upcoming Stock Taking Moment (STM) scheduled between July 24 and July 26 in Rome.

According to Mr. Nebeolisa, the initiation of Nigeria's food systems transformation pathways can be traced back to September 2021 when the United Nations Secretary-General called upon countries to utilize the potential of food systems to recover from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and progress towards achieving all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

Furthermore, Mr. Nebeolisa highlighted that the recommendations derived from numerous dialogues were consolidated into 78 priority actions for establishing sustainable food systems in Nigeria. These actions are intended to be implemented over the short, medium, and long term.

The Permanent Secretary mentioned that the ministry has formed an Implementation Task Team, consisting of various stakeholders and development partners from multiple sectors. This task team will act as a think-tank to ensure the efficient execution of the 78 priority recommendations.

According to the Permanent Secretary, these 78 recommendations will significantly transform the existing narrative surrounding our food systems, bringing about substantial changes from the farm to the consumers and even waste management.

Furthermore, he explained that the task team has formulated a comprehensive action plan for 2023, encompassing ten actionable activities aligned with the food systems transformation pathways.