Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Sen. Sabi Abdullahi, says in spite of insecurity issues in the country, it will overcome its food supply challenges.

Abdullahi said this at the end of the second phase of a two-day training for Senate Press Corps and Select Staff of the Upper Chamber in Abuja on Tuesday.

The training was organised in collaboration with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

He said that the herdsmen/farmers crises in parts of the country had resulted in difficulties for farmers to cultivate the land.

“It is a very challenging time for us as a country.

“The one hope I have is that we are always able to overcome our challenges. We will work collectively to take this country out of the difficulty we found ourselves.

“We will ensure that we change from a rudimentary production system through a much more productive system, and even to a more advanced system.”

Sabi, who represents Niger North Senatorial District, urged government to ensure a more virile food and security policy to tackle the scourge of poverty in the country.

“Looking at agriculture as a means of taking people out of poverty and enhancing their livelihood is something that is compulsory,” he said.

The lawmaker noted that the objective of the training was to enhance the reportorial skills of the National Assembly media crew in handling specialised areas such as agriculture and food security toward deepening democracy.

“Our regrouping is an indication of the importance the Senate attached to the Press Corps. This 8th Senate has brought a lot of changes; in all of this, the press corps has been standing with us.’’

He commended the institute for its “Feed the Future” programme, saying it was a laudable project.

In his remarks, Head of the institute, Dr George Mavrotas, said “I cannot imagine this country to become more aware of the important issues surrounding the agricultural sector without active involvement of journalists and in particular, the Senate media.”

He said the training was a five-year programme aimed at equipping journalists covering the national assembly with skills on drafting communication strategy.

One of the participants Mr Huram Lokodi, said the training had exposed him “to how as journalists, we can better communicate policies of government, especially agriculture policies, to the public.

“This is very timely because in Nigeria, for issues of food security, it is necessary as journalists, we let people who are into agriculture know what the policies are and how best to achieve food security.

“It has been very useful,” he said.

On her part, a Legislative Officer, Haraya Gyunkat, said the training had added to her knowledge of using online platforms to aid written communication strategy.