President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has declared state of emergency on food security across the country, saying he is not unmindful of the rising cost of food and how it affects citizens, adding that affordability has been a major issue to many Nigerians in all parts of the country.
The President who spoke through his Special Adviser on Special Duties, Communication and Strategy, Dele Alake on Thursday stated that all matters pertaining to food and water availability and affordability, as essential livelihood items, be included within the purview of the National Security Council.
He said further that as direct and immediate response to this crisis, a number of initiatives will be deployed in the coming weeks to reverse this inflationary trend and guarantee future uninterrupted supplies of affordable foods to ordinary Nigerians.
Tinubu added that as with most emergencies, there are immediate, medium- and long-term interventions and solutions. “In immediate term, we intend to deploy some savings from the fuel subsidy removal into the Agricultural sector focusing on revamping the agricultural sector”.
The President in an earlier meeting with Agriculture Stakeholders (today), has drafted a memorandum of partnership between government and the individual stakeholder representatives that encompasses the decisions taken and actions proposed from their engagements.
“The immediate intervention strategies are as follows: We will immediately release fertilizers and grains to farmers and households to mitigate the effects of the subsidy removal.
“There must be an urgent synergy between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Water Resources to ensure adequate irrigation of farmlands and to guarantee that food is produced all-year round.
Tinubu made it clear that Nigeria can not be comfortable with seasonal farming, declaring that the country can no longer afford to have farming down times, he promised to create and support a National Commodity Board that will review continuously assess food prices.
“As well as maintain a strategic food reserve that will be used as a price stabilisation mechanism for critical grains and other food items. Through this board, government will moderate spikes and dips in food prices”, the President said.
To achieve this, the following stakeholders has been put on board to support the intervention effort of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu: The National Commodity Exchange (NCX), Seed Companies, National Seed Council and Research institutes, NIRSAL Microfinance Bank.
Also, Food Processing/Agric Processing associations, private sector holders and Prime Anchors, small holder farmers, crop associations and Fertilizer producers, blenders and suppliers associations to mention a few.
He said his administration will engage security architecture to protect the farms and the farmers so that farmers can return to farmlands without fear of attacks. “The Central Bank will continue to play a major role of funding the agricultural value chain.
“Activation of land banks. There is currently 500,000 hectares of already mapped land that will be used to increase availability of arable land for farming which will immediately impact food output.
“Mechanization and land clearing- The government will also collaborate with mechanization companies to clear more forests & make them available for farming.
“River basins- there are currently 11 rivers basins that will ensure planting of crops during the dry season with irrigation schemes that will guarantee continuous farming production all year round, to stem the seasonal glut and scarcity that we usually experience.
The President added that his administration will deploy concessionary capital/funding to the sector especially towards fertilizer, processing, mechanization, seeds, chemicals, equipment, feed, labour, etc. “The concessionary funds will ensure food is always available and affordable thereby having a direct impact on Nigeria’s Human Capital Index (HCI).
“This administration is focused on ensuring the HCI numbers, which currently ranks as the 3rd lowest in the world, are improved for increased productivity”, Nigerian leader said.
Speaking on Transportation and Storage, he said the cost of transporting Agricultural products has been a major challenge (due to permits, toll gates, and other associated costs), adding that the costs of moving farm produce is significantly impacted.
Tinubu noted that this will immediately be passed to the consumers, which will affect the price of food. “Our government will explore other means of transportation including rail and water transport, to reduce freight costs and in turn impact the food prices.
“As for storage, existing warehouses and tanks will be revamped to cut waste & ensure efficient preservation of food items. We will Increase revenue from food and agricultural exports. As we ensure there is sufficient, affordable food for the populace, we will concurrently work on stimulating the export capacity of the Agric sector”, he said.
