How reforms can reduce poverty and improve food security – Wide-ranging reforms are needed to make Nigeria’s economy more sustainable and resilient, a World Bank Consultant, Prof. Abel Ogunwale, has said.
Ogunwale said there was a need to reform the agricultural sector to ensure poverty reduction and greater food security.
According to him, the agricultural sector is an important part of the economy and provides a livelihood for many Nigerians.
He called for a reformed policy environment, which will ensure that the sector contributes to improve food security and poverty reduction.
Effective implementation of the reform, according to him, will require improvements to agricultural institutions and governance systems. He stressed that future economic productivity could stall unless governments invest more in their people and services to support them.
According to him, infrastructure still poses challenges that must be addressed to ensure that Nigeria achieves sustainable and inclusive growth. He said lack of investment in infrastructure has halted the growth progress, adding that unless the government invests more in infrastructure, including power and transport, the growth will not be sustainable. For him, the nation’s infrastructure development lagged behind other economies, particularly, poor transportation, connectivity and roads are deteriorating due to lack of maintenance investment.
Promising sectors, such as agriculture, he said, require a large amount of infrastructure, urging the government to leverage the private sector through public-private partnerships to finance public infrastructure. He advocated significant tax reforms as strategies to attract investment and ease the burden on small business.
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