Staff Writer
Dr. Mohammad Abubakar, the minister of agriculture and rural development, has attributed the growing price of food and other goods to inflation as well as the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The minister said yesterday at a media briefing series called “Scorecard 2015-2023” to highlight the accomplishments of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
He claimed that inflation is a global trend caused by the COVID-19 epidemic and that it is not just a problem in Nigeria.
The increase in fertilizer costs and the difficulties faced by raw material producers as a result of the pandemic, according to Abubakar, had a negative impact on the pricing of food goods.
Abubakar made an effort to assuage anxieties by pointing out that the nation has enough food to feed its people, despite the grumbling of Nigerians due to the high cost of food, especially rice.
We have enough food to provide for Nigerians, he remarked. According to our mandate, we are generating food across the nation, and we will keep doing so to feed Nigerians and hasten the transformation of rural areas.
“The fact that Nigeria imports some food types does not mean there is a food scarcity in this country. Food prices in the nation are high not just because of rising inflation, which is not unique to Nigeria, but also because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which drove several economic output sectors to shut down for extended periods of time.
As things stand, the epidemic has caused inflation and high food prices around the world, and many regions of the world, including our own, have not yet fully recovered.
The minister stated that the ministry is currently building 10 large-scale integrated rice mills with 320 metric tons of daily capacity in nine states and the Federal Capital Territory in order to increase the nation’s food supply.
Jigawa, Kano, Adamawa, Niger, Kaduna, Gombe, Ekiti, Ogun, and Bayelsa are the states in question.
Additionally, farmers are supported in their efforts to produce and disseminate breeder, foundational, and certified rice seeds.
The minister added that the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative, which was started in 2016, boosted the number of fertilizer facilities from eight to 200 and increased production from 300,000 to seven million tons.
He claims that the ministry has enhanced the capacity of food storage facilities for emergencies and increased the quantity of food, fish, and animal production.
He mentioned that the Federal Government’s silo complexes in Irrua, Edo State, and Ilesha, Osun State are home to two 2,000 metric ton specialty warehouses for food storage that are being built by the ministry.
Responding to inquiries regarding herders’ attacks on farmers, the minister emphasized that ranching and grazing remain viable solutions to the issue and expressed doubt that herdsmen would deliberately target farmers.
Earlier, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the minister of information and culture, warned Nigerians traveling to the United States and Europe about the high prevalence of travel document theft.
Mohammed claimed that attacks on Nigerians in London and the theft of their personal things, including passports and cash, as well as in some other locations in Europe and America, were what led to the advise.
In order to prevent losing their possessions, he stated, “We have decided to advise Nigerians traveling to Europe and the United States to take extra precautions.”
This is not your standard travel warning. Such issuance is under the purview of our High Commissions, Embassies, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It’s just some advice for Nigerians who could be traveling to the affected regions of the world.
