Rising Food Prices: Declare State Of Emergency, Expert Tells FG

• Entrepreneur Abimbola Adeyemi urges the Federal Government to declare an agriculture state of emergency to address rising food prices
• Adeyemi advocates for measures like interest-free loans for youth involvement in agriculture, emphasizing the importance of growing and consuming local products

Ms. Abimbola Adeyemi, an entrepreneur and the Chief Executive Officer of Crown Fit Cocktails and More, urges the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in agriculture to tackle the escalating prices of food items.

Speaking at the third edition of the Crown Fit Food and Beverages Exhibition in Abeokuta, Ogun state capital, Adeyemi expressed regret that Nigeria, despite its vast arable land and human resources, is facing challenges in feeding itself.

Adeyemi emphasized the need for the government to make agriculture more appealing to youths by providing interest-free loans, farm inputs, training, and equipment. She attributed the current economic hardships in Nigeria to years of neglect of the agriculture sector.

“The most urgent first step to ending hunger and poverty in the country is food distribution. The subsidy removal and the state of the economy have led to a surge in the prices of these commodities. There is an urgent need for the Federal government to declare a state of emergency in the agriculture sector. It is hoped that a rapid turnaround will be seen and witnessed to the benefit of all in no distant time,” Adeyemi stated.

She advocated for palliative measures such as access to interest-free loans for farmers to alleviate the impact of harsh economic policies, particularly affecting farmers. Adeyemi stressed the importance of Nigerians growing what they eat and the government prioritizing Made-in-Nigeria products to boost the local market and revive the economy.

The exhibition, according to Adeyemi, aims to attract hundreds of farmers, food and event vendors. At the same time, her organization has trained, employed, and engaged over 100 young Nigerians to foster self-sustainability in the food and beverages sector.