To guarantee food security in the state, Enugu State government has expressed readiness to partner with the Harvesting Hope Caravan, HHC, a flagship programme under the Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit, PFSCU, in the Office of the Vice President, alongside Pula Advisors, its donor partners and Leadway Insurance Company.
This is even as Governor Peter Mbah’s administration insured no fewer than 9,000 farmers against agricultural risk hazards, protecting their production and reinforcing their confidence in the agricultural sector.
Speaking during the flag-off of the initiative, the Coordinator of the Harvesting Hope Caravan, Mrs. Safiya Umar, described the programme as a national grassroots platform for dialogue, engagement and mobilisation that bridges the gap between government policy and the people.
She explained that the Caravan was designed to connect policymakers, farmers, agribusinesses, and communities through inclusive engagements rooted in local cultural norms.
“The Harvesting Hope Caravan fosters dialogue, builds partnerships, and unifies efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s food systems. It promotes inclusivity by giving women, youth, and smallholder farmers a meaningful voice in shaping interventions that affect their lives,” she said.
Umar added that the initiative aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, showcasing government’s commitment to sustainable agricultural transformation through evidence-based policies and people-centered solutions.
Also speaking on the occasion, the Head of Pula Advisors in the state, Ugwu Ndubuisi, commended Enugu State for its proactive participation in the National Agribusiness Policy Mechanism, NAPM, which operates alongside the HHC to synchronize data-driven planning and implementation. He praised the state’s visionary leadership under Governor Mbah for prioritizing farmers’ welfare and expanding access to agricultural insurance.
“We are proud to congratulate Enugu State for insuring over 9,000 farmers during the 2025 wet season exercise. This milestone reflects the visionary leadership of Governor Mbah and the dedication of his agricultural team.
‘’Our full field operations – enumeration, data collection, and crop-cut experiments – are currently ongoing in the state,’’ Ndubuisi said.
He expressed appreciation to the PFSCU, Leadway Insurance, the Bayer Foundation, and Enugu State government for making the insurance initiative possible, reaffirming Pula Advisors’ continued commitment to the national agribusiness and food security drive.
Reacting to the development, the Deputy Governor, Barr. Ifeanyi Ossai, commended the Presidency for spearheading partnerships that strengthened food security nationwide, describing food security as the cornerstone of economic stability.
He emphasised that Enugu State’s agricultural reforms were focused on creating wealth, jobs and sustainable livelihoods.
Barr. Ossai, who represented the governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, said the government had established the Enugu Agricultural Farmland Bank, which currently houses over 130,000 hectares of land to attract investment and support commercial farming.
He said the state was also developing Farm Estates in every political ward, where government would till the land, allocate it to farmers, support them with inputs, and guarantee the purchase of their produce.
“Our goal is to move our people from seeing agriculture as a survival job to embracing it as a profitable business. We treat every farmer equally, male or female, indigene or resident, because Enugu is a state of inclusivity and shared opportunity,” he said.
He further assured partners that the government would uphold transparency and accountability in its insurance commitments.
“We will ensure that every insured risk is treated with dispatch and that no farmer suffers avoidable loss,” he said.
The governor further reaffirmed Enugu’s readiness to serve as a model for agribusiness innovation in Nigeria, driven by trust, inclusivity and sustainability.
On his part, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Patrick Ubru, lauded the partnership, saying the governor had planned the outlook of the agriculture sector by insuring over 9,000 farmers for four seasons against disasters associated with farming.
Ubru said the administration would continue to provide the right support as well as distribute quality farm inputs across the state, noting that the ministry was updating its database, which currently stood at over 70,000 farmers.
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