From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
Policy Innovation Centre (PIC), under the auspices of Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), yesterday, revealed that 200,000 Nigerians die annually from food poisoning.
This was disclosed yesterday at the gender and inclusion summit 2023 (GS-23) convened by the Policy Innovation Centre of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group in Abuja.
Speaking at the Gender Inclusion Summit in Abuja, wife of Apostle Michael Orokpo and Social Media influencer, Osenega Orokpo said that there is a huge food poisoning in Nigeria and Africa due to poor processing and absence of robust and monitoring food systems in the country.
She noted the need for resilient food systems to address the challenge of food poisoning in the country.
Orokpo, spoke on the topic: “Pathway out of Poverty: Closing Systematic Gender Gaps in Agricultural Productivity, Value Chain Pathways, and Enterpreneurial Opportunities”.
According to Orokpo, Nigeria can address the challenge of food poisoning through proactive interventions through advocacy.
For her, every food supply chain should have safety cautions in place to guard against food poisoning along the distribution channel.
She also underscored the need for women inclusion in the food value chain, as according to her, about 47 per cent of farmers in food chain are women.
“It is very important to establish food procedure because most of the people who provide food are smallholder farmers. That is where training comes in, training model should be handed down all the way from farm to factory.
On insecurity, another panelist, the Plateau State Commissioner for for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Honourable Sampson Bugama said: “The government is doing a lot to curb insecurity challenge in the state, particularly as it concerns women.
“We are deliberate to mainstream women in policy formulation and even appointment into cabinet. This, the government has demonstrated by appointing many women to serve in the present administration,” Buhama said.
Also speaking on security, the Kebbi State Commissioner for Agriculture, Honourable Shehu Muazu said women are at the centre of rice revolution in Kebbi State and that the administration is leaving no stone unturned to provide security to farmers, especially women.
“When we came into office, we took issue of security very seriously. We have been able to curb farmers and herders clash successfully” he said.
Earlier, Chairman, NESG Policy and Innovation Centre, (PIC) Mr. Udeme Ufot said, the summit was conceptualised as a platform for dialogue where critical stakeholders from diverse sectors will reflect on new evidence and contextually relevant solutions to disparities in inclusivity in Nigeria.
By joining forces and leveraging the collective power of government, development partners, civil society, academia, and the private sector, he explained that the summit aims to foster collective commitment and focused action towards building a gender inclusive society.
According to him, the Gender and Inclusion Summit has a truly inclusive scope encompassing women, men, children, youth, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable population.
“This year, we are dedicating considerable time to discuss issues relating to Nigerian youth for many reasons. Nigeria has the one of the largest population of youth in the world, about seventy percent of the population is under 35 years old. The median age of youth in Nigeria is 18.1 years and 42% are under the age of 15.
“The size and youthfulness of the Nigerian population offers great potential for innovation, technological advancement and economic development.
“For this potential to be harnessed, strategic investments in health, education, infrastructural development and job creation is critical while leveraging technology to deliver sustainable development at scale.
“We have a collective responsibility to develop inclusive approaches to address barriers to quality education, job and internship opportunities and access to health services for Nigeria’s burgeoning youth population.”
“We are on the path to fulfilling our 2022 commitment with the launching of the maiden edition of the ‘Purple Book’ in May 2023.
“We are committed to ensuring that every idea and recommendation from this summit is documented in the Purple Book to facilitate sustained advocacy after the summit,” she added.
The theme for the 2023 summit is ‘Building Bridges: Advancing Gender & Inclusion Through the Intersection of Trade & Health’.