The Federal Government has sought to partner with the Republic of Belarus on mechanical agriculture in order to boost food production and ensure security in Nigeria.
Alhaji Mohammed Idris, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, made this known when Mr Viacheslav Bril, Belarus Ambassador to Nigeria, and his team, visited him on Wednesday in Abuja.
According to the ninister, one of the key eight priority areas of President Bola Tinubu is food security, adding that the President had declared an emergency in that regard from day one.
“The Republic of Belarus has the technology and the expertise, especially investment in mechanised agriculture.
“We assure you that Nigeria is ready to partner with you in that respect. I am happy that you mentioned that you already have plans in place to meet with the Minister of Agriculture so that the two countries can work together to boost food production.
“This is because, that is what we need. We don’t want food imports. What we want is our ability to produce these foods for our people.
“We have arable land; we have the people. What we lack are the technologies and the necessary investment in the value chain,” Idris said.
On the issue of fake news, the minister stressed that it was a worldwide phenomenon that was worrisome.
He noted that the advent of social and new media had helped to fuel the issue of fake news.
The minister, however, maintained that the new media and social media were desirable in terms of information flow and dissemination.
“We also have to be careful in the way we consume what we see in social media and in the new media.
“Mr President has given an order that only information that is genuine and honest should be given to Nigerians. Any information that is not genuine and transparently accountable is not desirable.
“This ministry is leading the actualisation of credible information management between the Nigerian government, the Nigerian people and, by extension, the international community,” Idris said.
On potash fertilizer, the minister said Nigeria needed it in the market, so that the price of fertilizer could reduce and become affordable not only for Nigeria but also across Africa.
He also said that the country would appreciate if more Nigerians were given opportunities to study in the Republic of Belarus.
Earlier, Bril said that his country was trading with no fewer than 190 countries, adding that the economy of Belarus Republic was export-oriented.
“We are very strong in agriculture. For example, the Republic of Belarus is responsible for almost 30 per cent of the fertiliser production that is very important for food security in the world, especially these days.
“Nigeria continues to be the territory for the industries and trade in the world, and we see a lot of maturity and priorities in cooperation between Belarus and Nigeria.
“We can assist Nigeria to sell farms, food processing plants, storages and many other things. Belarus is very strong in terms of mechanisation of agriculture.
“Belarus tractors are well known brands of tractors; we’ve produced every kind of tractor in the world in the last century, and some of them are still working in Africa since 1970s.
“And this is one of our main key points in our work in establishing cooperation between Nigeria and Belarus,” Bril said.
According to the Ambassador, his country is passionate to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with different states in Nigeria.
He explained that the general purpose of the MoU would be the mutual cooperation between the participants to provide a private business environment for future deliberation between the countries.
“The deliberation will be in such fields like agriculture and rural development, transport and road development, education and skills development, state emergency management agency, training and equipment, mining and medicines,” the envoy said.
Bril said that his country had repeatedly appealed to all international organisations to stop the flow of false information and pressure on the Republic of Belarus. (NAN)