The MATAN Food Bank Professionals Association of Nigeria has launched a bold technology-driven program aimed at ending hunger and strengthening food security across the country with the launch of its MATAN Automated Food Security Initiative (AMESI/METS).
The national flag, which attracted farmers and stakeholders from all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, marked the unveiling of a comprehensive framework designed to transform food access, production and distribution across the country. The three-day event was held at the National Institute of Sports, Lagos.
MATAN Group National President and Chairman of its Board of Directors, Olakunle Johnson, described the initiative as a “spiritual project” focused on rebuilding Nigeria’s food systems from the grassroots up. He said AMESI would deploy modern production, tracking and distribution tools to offer sustainable solutions to hunger.
“Most of the problems in this country will solve themselves once food is available,” Johnson said, highlighting that widespread availability of food would significantly reduce insecurity, including insurgency and banditry, which often thrive in environments of hunger and deprivation.
An important pillar of the program is a multipurpose food security digital identity card linked to citizens’ bank verification number and national identification number.
The system is designed to improve transparency and ensure efficient and targeted food distribution, while eliminating chaotic food queues. MATAN plans to enumerate over 200 million Nigerians to identify children, vulnerable groups, workers and households for structured access to food.
Community kinship teams will drive data collection, operate food banks and manage automatic street-level feeding machines for cooked and raw meals.
To guarantee supply, MATAN has partnered with large farmers, who will focus on production while the association takes care of storage, logistics and distribution nationwide.
The initiative also includes land automation and community farming, allowing homeowners and tenants to pool land for mechanized cultivation. Johnson urged federal, state and local governments, as well as development commissions, to support the full implementation of the program, insisting that lasting peace is impossible without guaranteed access to food.
North West Zone Vice President Abba Imam said the project is based on a bottom-up model to ensure active participation of the community. He described the organizational structure encompassing a National Advisory Council, Women in Agriculture and executive councils at the national, zonal, state and community levels.
Goni Faruk Umar, board member and director of Greenwich Merchant Bank Nigeria, said warnings from the International Monetary Fund about impending food shortages spurred the grassroots agriculture plan. He revealed that the youth would be mobilized, allocated farmland and their produce purchased for subsidized community distribution.
Former Deputy Governor of Gombe State, Joshua Lidani, described the initiative as unprecedented and assured that within two years it would significantly improve national food security and boost the agricultural economy.
Also speaking was Miss Farms Ltd Chairman and CEO and MATAN Food Security and Sustainability Committee Chairman Olajide Bashorun who said collective action among farmers is critical to building a resilient food system.
He noted that hunger fuels poor health, low productivity and antisocial behavior, adding that overcoming hunger is key to social harmony.
Under the programme, farmers will be registered on a MATAN digital portal, will be supplied with agricultural inputs at competitive prices and the delivery of products will be guaranteed at agreed prices at the farm.
Confident that the initiative will begin to yield tangible results within a year, MATAN says the AMESI platform is positioned to improve food supply, create jobs and strengthen national security, placing food at the center of Nigeria’s development and stability agenda.
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