Lagos State Government To Partner Denmark on Food Security

The Lagos State Government has said it is open to collaboration with the Kingdom of Denmark to ensure food security in the state. The Governor of Lagos state, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, emphasized the importance of agriculture as one of the major focuses of his administration.

Sanwo-Olu made the remark on Tuesday, during a courtesy visit by the Consul General and Head of Trade, Embassy of the Kingdom of Denmark, Ms Jette Bjerrum, and her team to the governor’s office in Alausa, Ikeja.

He said his administration would continue to collaborate with other countries and private sectors to further develop the state.

The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, said the collaboration was in line with President Bola Tinubu’s call on investors.

Speaking on forthcoming Nordic-Nigeria Connect conference, scheduled for November, he said that the government was open to collaboration with the Kingdom of Denmark, especially in the agricultural sector, to ensure food security.

The Nordic-Nigeria Connect is a high-power conference on Smart City solutions and circular economy, organized by Nordic countries which include Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland.

He, therefore, stated that the government was already collaborating with Sweden, Netherlands and that such bilateral relations would help promote trade and commerce in the state.

The governor, who emphasized on the enhancement of management of agricultural produce, said that Lagos being the smallest state in Nigeria, in terms of land mass, hosts the highest population.

Sanwo-Olu said the request for food became enormous because of the state’s population.
“One of the things the state plans to do is to track the agricultural produce that comes in, and from where.

“By doing so, we can actually reduce the cost of food and the quality of such stuff, which is part of the government’s food security initiative,” he said.

The governor said that the state government was huge on investment in the technology, agriculture, education, transportation and other sectors of the economy.

Earlier in her remarks, Bjerrum said that President Bola Tinubu had promised that Nigeria was open for business and in essence, they were ready to partner with the state government.

According to her, it is important for the Kingdom to understand the agenda of the state government ahead of the Nordic Nigeria Connect event, hence the visit.

Agro Nigeria / Foluke Ibitomi