- The presidency said the move is aimed at addressing food inflation
- There will be short, medium and long term goals to achieve food security in the country.
- A raft of policies will be rolled out to achieve the government agricultural objectives
Amid sharp rise in food prices and galloping inflation, President Bola Tinubu has declared a state of emergency on food security in Nigeria.
Tinubu made the declaration on Thursday.
The declaration was contained in a statement was by Presidential spokesman, Dele Alake.
According to Alake, the move is aimed at tackling the high cost of food as many Nigerians now spend between 30% to 40% on food.
Alake said that the President was aware of the rising cost of food and its effect on citizens.
He noted that the declaration of a state of emergency was in furtherance of the Tinubu administration’s drive to ensure that the most vulnerable are supported.
The directive also includes the inclusion of all matters pertaining to food and water availability and affordability, as essential livelihood items, within the purview of the National Security Council.
Alake said “We will immediately release fertilizers and grains to farmers and households to mitigate the effects of the subsidy removal.
“There will be an organic synergy between the Ministry of Agriculture and the use of water resources to ensure adequate irrigation of farmlands and to guarantee that food is available all year round.
“As a country, Mr. President has made it clear that we are no longer comfortable with seasonal farming. We can no longer afford to have farming downtime.”
The Presidential aide explained that the Federal Government will partner with states to create ranches in those that are willing to avail lands. The ranches will have sections dedicated as grazing reserves, he added.
“We will establish ranches in collaboration with state government and the federal government will pay for the land,” he said.
Alake explained that the FG will activate land banks nationwide, which currently stand at 500,000 hectares mapped “to increase the availability of arable land for farming which will immediately impact food output.”
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