By Victor Uzoho
The United States Soybean Export Council (USSEC) has collaborated with the Federal Government and stakeholders in Nigeria’s agronomy and poultry industry in hosting a nutrition and food security forum.
Titled, “Nigeria Now”, the forum is aimed at increasing access to healthy and nutritional food in Nigeria.
According to the U.S. Mission in Nigeria, the initiative shows its commitment to supporting innovative agricultural collaboration that promotes nutrition and food security in the country.
In a statement made available to Sustainable Economy on Friday, the U.S. Mission said more than 8,000 people from the international poultry industry, including the Governor of Cross River State, Prof. Ben Ayade, attended the event, which was held in Atlanta, Georgia.
Speaking at the event, Counsellor for Agricultural Affairs at the U.S. Mission to Nigeria, Gerald Smith, explained that the forum would enhance collaboration and enable Nigerian industry stakeholders to meet the country’s vision for nutrition and food security.
Nigeria Now Forum would provide a pathway for accelerating food and nutrition security through collaboration and the identification of additional synergies and strengths.
Remarking, CEO of USSEC, Jim Sutter, underscored the need for a shared priority that will enable nutrition and food security for families, communities and countries around the world, and more specifically to improve access to healthy and nutritional food.
He reiterated USSEC’s commitment to collaborate with varied stakeholders in Nigeria’s soy value chain.
“We want to continue building on our growing partnerships in 2022, to help Nigerian leaders meet their food and nutrition vision for the citizens of their country,” Sutter said.
On his part, USSEC’s Regional Director, Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, Kevin Roepke, said: “We hope Nigeria will take a diversified and multi-faceted approach to achieve food and nutrition security.
“Local food and soy production is and will remain critically important, and we invite leaders to consider complementing their local supply with high-quality imports to most effectively and sustainably meet nutrition needs.”
Applauding existing partnerships, Roepke said the Nigeria Now Forum would provide a pathway for accelerating food and nutrition security through collaboration and the identification of additional synergies and strengths.
USSEC is a non-profit U.S. trade group representing U.S. soybean producers, processors, commodity shippers, merchandisers, allied agribusinesses, and agricultural organisations.
The main goal of the group is to build preference, improve the value, and enable market access for the use of U.S. Soy for human consumption, aquaculture, and livestock feed in 82 countries across the world.
