Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

News

Nigeria Won’t Face Food Crisis, FG Replies IMF

Nigerians should not be afraid of any form of food crisis, the Federal Government said on Monday, as it kicked against the projections of the International Monetary Fund, Punch reports.

It stated that several measures had been put in place to forestall the scarcity of food in Nigeria, stressing that there was no need for panic among citizens across the country.

On Monday,  the International Monetary Fund says Nigerians should brace up for higher food prices/risks in 2023 due to recent floods and high fertiliser price.

But the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development opposed the position of the global financial institution, as it provided a document detailing what the FMARD had done and was doing to avert such a crisis.

“People shouldn’t be afraid of any food crisis. The minister has explained this and so people should not express fear about their (IMF) projections,” the Director, Information, FMARD, Joel Oruche, told  correspondents.

In the document on the Long/Short Term Measures to Ameliorate the Disruptions of Food Production and Supply in Nigeria, the ministry said it was implementing various interventions to mitigate the anticipated disruptions occasioned by the recent floods.

The FMARD said it had distributed “assorted food commodities from the Federal Government strategic food reserve to the vulnerable and flood victims through the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.”

It added, “Distribution of early maturing seeds (wheat, rice, maize, sorghum, cassava cuttings), fertilisers, agro-chemicals and agro-equipment to affected crop farmers across the country.

“Distribution of subsidised agricultural inputs (fertilisers, certified seeds and agro-chemicals) to affected wheat, rice and maize farmers for dry season farming under Agricultural Transformation Agenda Phase 1 and Public Based Operations across the 36 states and Abuja.”

The ministry said brooded broilers for restocking of affected smallholder poultry farms had also been distributed nationwide, adding that the mass vaccination of animals to prevent incidents of disease outbreaks that usually occurred after flood disasters was currently ongoing.

The FMARD further stated that it was collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Interior to improve security on farms through the deployment of agro-rangers across the country.

It said the government had approved five-year tax break as an incentive to encourage private investments in the agricultural sector and increased food production, processing and marketing.

“Restocking of the strategic food reserve with 200,000 metric tonnes of assorted food commodities,” it stated.

It added, “There is the engagement in land preparation in collaboration with the state and Local Governments to open more land and take advantage of residual moisture for dry season farming,” among others.

____

Follow us on Twitter at @thesignalng

Copyright 2022 SIGNAL. Permission to use portions of this article is granted provided appropriate credits are given to  www.signalng.com and other relevant sources.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement

Related

News

The International Monetary Fund has said inflation, debt, and forex crisis is pushing the Nigerian economy and other African economies to the brink. The...

News

The International Monetary Fund has noted the rising rate of unemployment, after an analysis of the economic and financial developments in Nigeria. This observation...

News

A former Managing Director of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Mr. Mustapha Chike-Obi, has stated that Nigeria needs over $20 billion to avert...

News

A political activist and former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Comrade Timi Frank, has cautioned the International Monetary Fund...

Copyright ©