The Federal government has launched the National Food System Dashboard, NSFD, saying that it would provide actionable solutions that would facilitate the transformation of food systems in Nigeria.
The Minister of Agriculture, Sen. Abubakar Kyari stated this, while launching the board organized by the global alliance for food nutrition at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.
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The Dashboards are useful tools that visualize key information and facilitate understanding for complex systems. They present data from multiple, diverse sources into simple, visually appealing graphics, that allows stakeholders to set priorities for action and track progress to see if policies or other interventions are working.
It aims at diagnosing the challenges in the food and nutrition systems and most importantly, provide actionable solutions that would facilitate the transformation of food systems within each state.
According to the minister, the NFSD is a tool for positive change as it is designed to guide Nigeria’s policy makers and business at both the national and Sub-national levels to make informed discussions that will enhance food systems.
‘‘It empowers civil societies to hold various sectors accountable and provide a unified data based for research across various sectors of the eco-system. It is explicitly linked to the global food system dashboard and draws data from public and private data bases both within and outside the country.
‘‘Currently, the dashboard incorporates 99 indicators that have been meticulously identifying to provide a comprehensive view of Nigerian’s good system at all cost
‘‘As we finalize the national food system dashboard, it’ll also provide a map of emerging business opportunities and potential areas for investment of the food system,’’ he said.
While acknowledging the collaboration and dedication of all the stakeholders who played an important role in the development of NSFD, the minister expressed gratitude to them for been instrumental in bringing the country to its present level of success, saying that the overall goal of NSFD is to provide an in-depth analysis of state level food systems.
In his goodwill message, the Minister of Budget and national Planning, Sen. Atiku Bagudu, represented by Head of Food and Nutrition in the ministry, Mrs. Chito Nelson said the creation of this dashboard was one of the key recommendations that were made after the series of dialogues held around the two systems summit in 2022, saying that it would be used in carrying out diagnoses and making comparisons among states different stakeholders in the food and nutrition system.
‘‘With the launch of the Dashboards, Nigerian has joined a few countries.
We should liken the dashboard to a card dashboard to be used to making comparisons.
‘‘Every good driver must form the habit of always having an eye on the car dashboards to see that things are working well. The symbols on our car dashboards could mean and make a difference between a smooth journey and a costly car repair bills.
‘‘A careful analysis of the numerous indicators contained in the ecosystem dashboards if so lost about three hundred of them will help us in making key policy decisions and programming. I knew we started this process with some countries like Bangladeshd Indonesia, Kenya Mozambique.
‘‘I don’t know where Kenya is, but today ours is really an up and running I say congratulations to all of us.’’
He congratulated the Federal government and Global Alliance for improved nutrition in Nigeria.’’
In his own goodwill message, the Minister of Health, Health Professor Ali Mohammed represented by Director and Head of Nutrition, Mrs. Ladidi Bako-Aiyegbusi said the Dashboard would contribute to the transformation of food systems through profound shifts across food production, food storage, food consumption and disposal of food which has been the potential to generate multiplayer effects and acting as a catalyst for broader transformation across multiple systems and also achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
She said the Ministry is eager to continue closer collaboration with the Federal ministry of agriculture and other partners in experience sharing in the National Nutrition Task Force to guide informed decision of programs and health related outcomes.
‘‘The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare identifies with the commendable efforts for the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to coordinate and control food and nutrition data from the Nigeria Sub National Food System dashboard, which is an important part of the Nigerian food system.
‘‘We are delighted to be part of this laudable achievement, despite numerous challenges. This is a tremendous achievement from your dedication, hard work and perseverance have paid off at the sub national dashboard to contribute to the transformation of food systems.’’
The Food Systems Dashboard brings together extant data for over 225 indicators to give users a complete view of food systems, including their drivers, components, and outcomes. These indicators come from over 40 sources, both public and private, including United Nations agencies, the World Bank, the Consultative Group for International Agriculture Research (CGIAR), Euromonitor, and cross-country project-based datasets. The FSD is continually being updated to include new indicators, growing from around 140 indicators when first launched in 2020 to over 225 today.