Food insecurity: VP commissions $1m Grain Processing Innovative hub in Kano

The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima has on Thursday commissioned a Grain Processing Innovative Centre, GPIC worth $1 million built in Kano by a Swiss company, Buhler in collaboration with the Flour Mills of Nigeria plc to address food insecurity challenges bedeviling the country and African region.

Speaking while commissioning the hub, the Vice President said food security is top most of the agenda of the President Bola Tinubu led administration.

Shettima who was represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to turn around the situation in the country in terms of hunger and the nation’s economy.

The Vice President lauded the investment (GPIC) which he described as a positive move to assist Nigeria to address the bottleneck associated with grain production in the country.

He noted that with the population projection of the country, which is estimated to reach 400 million by 2050, points to the need for a solid partnership in meeting the food need of the expected population growth of the country.

According to him, “Food security is top most of the agenda of President Bola Tinubu’s administration. We know we are going through trying times right now in terms of food security and in the economy in general, we see it but we are also working very hard to be on top of the situation to turn things around. We know that no softer emergency measures to attack hunger. The key to turn the situation around is sustainability of most of what we already have.

“Nigeria produces about 33 million metric tonnes of grains annually. Now, the GPIC will improve our capacity to process and reduce significantly how much of that we do. It also means that as we increase production of grains, we also process more. And that is why we are here. We stand to support the move by this initiative with enabling policies,” Shettima said.

Chief Executive Officer, Buhler’s Grains and Food, Johannes Wick noted that sustainable food value chains utilizing local grains are the number one priority to developing Africa.

He further noted that the goal of the project was to bring industrial processing of these grains to the next level as a way of contributing to affordable nutrition.

On his part, the Managing director of Buhler, Thomas Ogundiran said that the company had so far invested about 1 million US dollars in the setting up of the centre, that is expected impact food production and processing only in Nigeria, but, the entire African continent.

He noted that his company which has operational presence in Kenya, and Cote d’Ivoire, decided to establish to extend it presence to Nigeria, as part of its commitment to address the growing food insecurity in Africa.

“Buhler is partnering with the Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, and Olam in starting this project in Kano state, known as the most active grains production hub in the Nigeria, as well as a place where grains are being consumed for centuries.

“The grains application center that we are commissioning today, will be processing local and ancient grains which Nigerians are used to, and is designed as a sustainable and transformative means of addressing food insecurity.

“Today around 2.3 billion out of the total of 8 billion global population lives in food insecure environment, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations. With Nigeria specific advantages in local grains such as sorghum and millets can play a vital role in improving food security, particularly, in Africa.

“To address this challenge, Buhler is opening a dedicated Application and Training Center with research and development capabilities in Kano, Nigeria, together with its founding partner, Flour Mills of Nigeria, and its collaborating partners, such as Olam Agri,” Ogundiran stated.

In his address at the occasion, Chairman, Board of Flour Mills of Nigeria, John Coumantaros said that the Center will be impacting the food value chain, noting that it is also business opportunity in a new category of processed food.

“FMN has always been at the forefront of driving food self sufficiency in Nigeria and progressively across the continent. The application center is well positioned to sustainably develop local grains, create business opportunities, and provide viable alternatives to some imported raw materials used in production.

“Therefore, this partnership further demonstrates our consistency in developing local content and in our commitment to feeding and enriching lives every day. Local grains and crops offer many benefits and are therefore a key tool in improving food security,” Coumantaros however explained.