Food is our common heritage, and provides leverage for the productivity of any nation. It is a strong statement that shows that food security is one of the major components of nation building. Without gainsaying, no nation can survive on hunger, and no development can take place when a nation is technically hungry (simply put, the citizens are always hungry). Therefore, developing a national food system must be in a deliberate and strategic manner in order to pose for productivity and greater impacts.

In other words, a nation that totally neglects its farmers is doomed to fail and coincidentally, neglects its full potential for development. Show me a country that achieved growth without concrete investment in its agricultural sector, and I would show you developed countries who achieved its status by not only investing in its agricultural sector, but strategically positioning its farmers for growth and development by providing access to relevant and quality growth materials - in physical assets and enabling the environment. Nations do not achieve development by wishful thinking alone, but they match it with strategic positioning and taking charge of their agricultural sector and helping their farmers to achieve higher productivity by owning their growth. This is the right time for developing countries to take charge of their agricultural sector and be intentional about development of the sector.

It is vital we take agriculture as one of the important means to an end (and not necessarily the end) by developing the appropriate policies that support its development, constantly empowering the farmers to increase their productivity through self-help initiatives (but at the same time providing the necessary environment to enable growth and development). No sector grows on its own without a concerted effort, and we need to take these deliberate acts today, so that food security becomes our reality. There is no better future than the ones we intentionally create for ourselves. Let us own our growth in order to create a system of food security today for a sustainable tomorrow.