Yemisi Izuora
Mr. Marc Van Der Sterren, founder of Farming Africa, from Netherlands has called on the federal government to exert energy on the empowerment of smallholder family farmers by providing them access to independent information, knowledge and education.
Sterren advised that focus should not be on economy and increasing food quantities through big industrialised agribusinesses, but the first aim should be at the smallholder family farmer.
This he said would lead subsistence farmers on a path. Toward sustainable commercial farming, and empowering all family farmers through independent information.
“With this new focus, not only hunger will be tackled, but more goals of attaining all 17 sustainable development goals would be achieved”, he said.
He said, “The new focus is a triangle. A triagle with the capacity to fade out all kinds of hunger in the world and the most important forms of poverty. A golden triangle between smallholder farmers, independent information and empowerment”, Sterren explained.