Mrs. Ndidi was the first speaker at the May EDITION of #ThePlatformNG which majored on #EconomicGrowth.

As the Managing Partner at SAHEL CONSULTING, an Agriculture and Nutrition agency, her speech centred on Food production and Agriculture.

She started by stating the position of Nigeria (in Africa) in terms of malnutrition. While sharing some gripping statistics, she asserted that Nigeria is in a place of hunger crisis.

She took time to explain how Nigeria became a malnourished state, and shared some obstacles we need to surmount;

• Transportation of food items from the place of production to consumption,
• Policies around Agriculture and Food production,
• A lack of Innovation and Technology, 
• Climate changes
  

Having a vision to transform the Agricultural Sector and raising conscious citizens who see Agriculture as a means to economic development, were part of the solutions she gave as a way out of these aforementioned challenges. 

Using  a quote by Dr. Akinwunmi Adeshina, she explained the need for the Nigerian Government to invest more in the area of Agriculture so she can reap the immense benefits.

According to her, a political will to do what is expected will help drive our nation forward.

She gave the example of SAHEL CONSULTING Agriculture Limited as a step to bridge the gap in the malnutrition challenges facing the nation. 

She shared how a lot of Nigerian youths are benefiting from this venture which include;

• Organising change seminars in Universities with the aim of changing the mindsets of students in the department of Agriculture to see their course as one which is viable and not to be avoided or be ashammed of. 
• Employing undergraduates as Interns in other to find gainful employment.
• Offering scholarships to those who wish to study Agriculture in Universities. 
  

Apart from SAHEL CONSULTING, she also talked about a subsidiary, SAHEL Capital Agribusiness Managers and how this organisation is growing the economy of Nigeria through Agriculture.

She ended with a quote by Kofi Annan encouraging the audience to see the potential in the Agricultural sector and also to promote the need for the government to keep investing in it. 

For more on the statistics shared by Mrs. Ndidi and how Agriculture is the new ‘gold’, you can listen to the entire speech when you click Here