Nigerian engineers highlight impediments to food security

Nigerian engineers have identified gender disparity in agricultural policy formulation and land tenure system as challenges to agricultural mechanisation and food security in the country.

According to them, insurgency had threatened the nation’s food security as clashes emanating from open grazing of herds continue to pose dangers to food security.

These were some of the observations the engineers made during a two-day second International Engineering Conference held at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike, Abia State.

The conference, themed, ‘Engineering for Sustainable Economic Diversification, Food and National Security,’ had 150 participants drawn from all engineering disciplines and other related professions from various higher institutions of learning within Nigeria, federal and state ministries, departments and agencies and featured 48 technical paper presentations on the various sub-themes.

The university’s Dean of the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology, Professor Kayode Simonyan, who described the theme as very appropriate in an emerging economy like Nigeria, said, “The key factors would be addressed to achieve sustainability in engineering and technology since this affects food security, national security and economic diversification.”

The Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Francis Otunta, through his Deputy (Academic Affairs), Professor Maduebibisi Ofo Iwe, while declaring open the conference, charged the stakeholders to share and discuss new findings and applications of engineering for economic diversification, food and national security.