Buhari Heads To Senegal For International Agriculture Conference

President Muhammadu Buhari will leave Lagos on Tuesday for Senegal, where he will attend the 2nd Dakar International Conference on Agriculture.

Mr Femi Adesina, presidential spokesman  confirmed this in a statement issued on Monday in Abuja.

According to a presidential aide, the high-level Dakar 2 Summit, hosted by Senegal’s President Macky Sall and the African Union’s Chairperson, would be held under the topic “Feeding Africa: Food Sovereignty and Resilience.”

“The meeting, which attempts to establish favorable conditions for African food security, is convened jointly by the government of Senegal and the African Development Bank,” Adesina stated.

”There will also be side meetings to discuss agreements on the delivery of food and agricultural products in some countries, including Nigeria.

”With Africa accounting for 249 million or a third of the 828 million hungry people in the world, the Summit, to be attended by African Heads of State and Government, Ministers of finance and agriculture, as well as several global development partners, is expected to make commitments on eradicating hunger in Africa by 2030.”

Members of the President’s delegation include Ministers and high government officials such as Geoffrey Onyeama, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Dr. Mohammad Abubakar, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Others include retired Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno, the National Security Adviser, and Amb. Ahmed Abubakar, the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA).

According to Adesina, the president will return to the country on January 25.

According to the Nigerian News Agency (NAN), the topic of this Summit is “Feed Africa: Food Sovereignty and Resilience.”

The event will bring together more than 1,500 people, with the participation of Heads of State and Government, Ministers in charge of Economy and Finance, Ministers of Agriculture and related sectors, Governors of Central Banks as well as private sector stakeholders, multilateral organizations, non-governmental organizations, leading academics and scientists.

During the three-day summit, key stakeholders, including heads of state, development partners and private sector participants will come together to mobilise financing that will harness Africa’s food and agriculture potential.