UK To Pledge Support For Nigeria’s Agriculture Sector

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly is expected to pledge support to Nigeria's agriculture sector during his visit to the country.

UK government issued a statement on Tuesday morning, revealing that the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom, James Cleverly, will announce a new package to help make the Nigerian agriculture sector more climate resilient.

"Nigeria has a booming population and the largest economy in Africa – there is huge potential for an even closer partnership between UK and Nigerian businesses which will be of mutual benefit to both countries," Secretary Cleverly said.

He added, "Together we are focussing on the future, putting in place green, clean measures, both in agriculture and infrastructure development, to create climate-resilient solutions for the global challenges we all face today and will increasingly face in the years to come."

Nigeria's major population is dependent on agricultural employment and this new funding will help to boost the Nigerian agricultural sector's productivity and resilience to the impacts of climate change.

Furthermore, it will also help to transform Nigerian critical agriculture and food systems for the benefit of people, climate, and nature. As per the statement, the UK government's support will help to develop heat and flood-tolerant crops and increase soil fertility.

This new funding will also help the UK's economy as it will reduce the agricultural trade barriers between UK and Nigeria.

Secretary Cleverly is all set to announce a £10 million UK-backed facility in Nigeria, in collaboration with finance company InfraCredit, on August 1 In Lagos. Additionally, on Wednesday, the UK government will announce a £55 million Propcom+ contract, a UK International Climate Finance program that aims to support the transformation of Nigeria's rural economy.

The UK government will also support over four million Nigerians to adopt and scale up sustainable agricultural practices.

Previously, the former prime minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, addressed the bandits and terrorists' issue in Nigeria earlier this year and said they would eventually be defeated.

The announcement came after President Bola Tinubu-led administration announced last month that it has mobilized $500 million to transform the food system in Nigeria.

Since the fuel subsidy has been removed, it has increased fuel and food prices drastically. In fact, last week thousands of Nigerians attacked the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) warehouses and looted food and non-food items.