POWA PRESIDENT MRS. ELIZEBETH EGBETOKUN, PROF. Veronica OBATOLU. Executive director Institute Of agriculture research and training and UNESCO REF PRESIDENT . Prince Abdulsalami Ladigbolu

The Police Officers Wives Association (POWA) has partnered with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation Read and Earn Federation (UNESCO REF) to boost capacity of its members on food security
POWA President, Mrs Elizabeth Egbetokun, said this on Monday at a One-Day Sensitisation Workshop in Abuja.
Egbetokun said that the workshop would build capacity of POWA members
on its PET project towards attaining the United Nation’s goals 2 aimed at achieving ‘ZERO HUNGER’.
She said that the partnership would be achieved through the President Bola Tinubu’s mandate to address food shortage and insecurity
She urged members of POWA to support and align with President Bola Tinubu’s mandate to fight food insecurity in the country.
Egbetokun, who also the wife of the Inspector General of Police, thanked the UNESCO REF for its support in addressing the pressing issue of food shortage in Nigeria.
”I believe your ultimate support would be necessary to align with today’s administration to fight food insecurity declared by President Bola Tinubu, as a state of emergency.
“The workshop will address the pressing issue of food shortage in Nigeria and most importantly steps towards a progressive and successful implementation of our goals to making our women more relevant in today’s society,” she said.
In his remarks, President of UNESCO REF, Prince Abdulsalami Ladigbolu said building the capacity of POWA members on effective engagement and implementation of action plan would go a long way in addressing food shortage in the country.
According to him, the workshop, being a non-kinetic approach will strengthen national security through agriculture.
” The purpose of the workshop is geared towards addressing food shortage in the country as well as enhancing national security.
” We believe that any society without research and development is dead. President Tinubu has told us his plans about enhancing food security through the cultivation of 500,000 tonnes of lands.
”’Food security affects everyone of us because an hungry man is an angry man,” Ladigbolu said.
According to him there is the need to prepare something ahead so that we don’t have food crisis. We are talking about the next line of action.
”One of the causes of food insecurity is climate change.
“When we don’t have food, we encroach into land meant for farming and the ones available we keep planting until the nutrients are no longer there and then we depend on fertilizer to boost the crops,” he said
He added that the executives of POWA had been identified to lead the process of addressing food shortage through the project.
According to him, the project is enhance agricultural value chain, forex reserved through economy diversification and bespoke agricultural produce and boost sustainable food production in the country.
”UNESCO REF has the mandate to address issues that are aligned with nation’s priorities and aspirations. So what we are doing is to align with the problems.
”We must ensure we are proactive to the priorities of Nigeria such as health, education and agriculture.
”If there is no education, we have hoodlums and this will lead to insecurity. So, everyone has to be involved in the project,” he said.(NAN)