Caribbean countries offer to help Nigeria achieve food security
Dr. Levi Odoe, Consular General of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines says Caribbean countries are willing to share their agricultural expertise with Nigeria so as to enhance her food production capacity. He called for more robust agricultural and not only oil and gas bilateral bonds to combat global food shortage. Odoe called for subsistence farming to be revitalized in Nigeria, and urged that people should engage backyard gardening. He also pointed to vast opportunities for Nigerian exports in the Caribbean and called on Nigeria and countries in that region remove such trade impediments as direct flight routes which have discouraged investments or bilateral cooperation.
Source: Vanguard
Our Review
The Caribbean’s proposal of sharing agro-technical know-how as an investment in Nigeria is a boon not only for its food production capacity, but also to accelerate bilateral trade. Nigeria, with its fast-growing population and presence in the Caribbean, South America and Latin-America can enhance food security by leveraging existing ties to expand subsistence farming & exports across these regions. It is also practical to get more people planting backyard gardens and expanding subsistence farming which will reduce the impact of food shortages locally. Furthermore, trade bottlenecks could also be resolved especially through enhancing direct flight connections for better movements of goods and services. Such a collaboration could be an example of South-South Cooperation that promotes growth and sustainability in both regions.
