According to figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), food inflation has hit 40%, putting critical items out of reach for millions of Nigerian citizens.
Abubakar Kyari, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, said the government expects a bumper crop by the end of the year. According to figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), food inflation has hit 40%, putting critical items out of reach for millions of Nigerian citizens.
However, Kyari stated that the Federal Government is taking steps to alleviate the crisis, including expanding farmland to enhance food production.
“This year’s bountiful harvest is expected to take place between October and November. That is when we will have the harvest. We foresee a bountiful harvest, barring any natural challenges,” Kyari stated on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics.
“Well, I am just giving you the assurance that we will have a bumper harvest,” remarked the farmer. According to him, seasonal factors are also contributing to the country’s current acute food scarcity.
“The current season is a critical issue for agriculture. “This is what we call the lean season, which runs from June to July and ends with the next harvest,” the minister explained.
Aside from that, Kyari linked the food shortage to other factors such as shrinking landmass, flooding, and more.
“Land shrinkage for agriculture, flooding, housing issues, and insecurity…””An ageing farming population; younger people are not entering agriculture anymore,” he remarked.
Kyari stated that the government is increasing efforts to promote mechanised farming by distributing fertilisers to farmers and purchasing tractors.
“We have placed an order. It is not like chewing gum; it cannot be purchased off the shelf. “I went to Belarus and ordered 200 tractors and 9,000 other implements,” the minister stated during the current affairs show. “The fundamental farming implement in Nigeria is a hoe, which is old and antique. That is why we are discussing mechanisation,” added Kyari.