To tackle the threats posed by food inflation in Nigeria, the
Federal Government, said it plans to establish a National Commodity Board as a
solution to the crisis.
In tackling price volatility, the board will be given the
mandate to assess and regulate food prices, as well as maintain a strategic
food reserve for stabilizing prices of crucial grains and other food items.
Vice President Kashim Shettima disclosed this during a
two-day high-level strategic meeting on climate change, food systems and
resource mobilization, held at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa,
Abuja.
Delivering his address entitled: "Climate Resilience and
Food Security: Nigeria's Vision for the Future," Senator Shettima said the
two-day event is an attestation of Nigeria’s efforts at mitigating the effects
of climate change and ensuring food security for Nigerians.
Recalling that food security was one of the eight areas of
priority declared by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as part of his Renewed Hope
Agenda, which led to the declaration of a state of emergency on food security,
the VP highlighted ongoing policy reforms by the administration to ensure food
and water availability, as well as affordability.
In a statement issued by Senior Special Assistant to the
President on Media and Publicity, Office of the Vice President, Stanley
Nkwocha, Shettima said: "Our solution to the potential food crisis has
become immediate, medium, and long-term strategies.
"The short-term strategy entails revitalizing food
supply through specific interventions like the distribution of fertilizers and
grains to farmers and households to counteract the effects of subsidy removal;
fostering collaboration between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of
Water Resources for efficient farmland irrigation, ensuring year-round food
production; and addressing price volatility by establishing a National
Commodity Board.
"This board will continually assess and regulate food
prices, maintaining a strategic food reserve for stabilizing prices of crucial
grains and other food items," the Vice President stated.
He assured that while the Tinubu administration is fully
invested in the restoration of degraded land, there are ongoing plans "to
restore four million hectares, or nearly 10 million acres, of degraded lands
within" the nation's borders as its contribution to the AFR100 Initiative.
On how the government is handling the security challenges
that have prevented farmers from working on their farms, he said, "I wish
to assure you that we will engage our security architecture to protect the
farms and the farmers so that farmers can return to the farmlands without fear
of attacks.
"We won’t only make it safe for farmers to return to
their farms, but we will also ensure the activation of land banks. There is
currently 500,000 hectares of already mapped land that will be used to increase
the availability of arable land for farming, which will immediately impact food
output.”
VP Shettima added that the Tinubu administration is also
collaborating "with mechanization companies to clear more forests and make
them available for farming," even as the Central Bank of Nigeria
"will also continue to play a major role in funding the agricultural value
chain.
"We will deploy concessionary capital to the sector,
especially towards fertilizer, processing, mechanization, seeds, chemicals,
equipment, feed, labour, among others. The concessionary funds will ensure food
is always available and affordable, thereby having a direct impact on Nigeria’s
Human Capital Index (HCI). This administration is focused on ensuring the HCI
numbers, which currently rank as the third lowest in the world, are improved
for increased productivity," he added.
Senator Shettima also restated efforts by the administration
"to ensure a massive boost in employment and job creation", noting
that it "is another presidential area of priority.
"The government will make agriculture attractive for our
teeming youth population with a view to creating between 5 to 10 million more
jobs for them within the agriculture value chain, working with the current
500,000 hectares of arable land and the several hundreds of thousands more
farmlands to be developed in the medium term," he pointed out.
These efforts, the VP continued, are part of federal
government's bid to actualize the "UN-Agenda 2030 on Sustainable
Development Goals 2 of “Zero hunger” and African Union Agenda 2063, which aims
to transform Africa into a global powerhouse of the future.
"But we can’t achieve this unless we guarantee food
security by building the capacity of smallholder farmers who account for about
88% of the total food production in Nigeria," he further noted.
He implored those at the event, including development
partners, private investors and the diplomatic community, among others, to make
sure the high-level engagement results in a positive outcome.
Also speaking at the event, National Coordinator of NEPAD, Mrs
Gloria Akobundu, praised President Tinubu for his efforts towards making Nigeria
a great nation.
“We are happy with the resolve by the administration of
President Bola Tinubu to stand undeterred by any odds in his objective to build
a viable, effective and great nation,” she said.
Mrs Akobundu said NEPAD decided to convene the stakeholders’
forum in order to strengthen small holder farmers in Nigeria as a way of
addressing food shortage problem in the country.
“We have gathered key stakeholders from across Nigeria and
all over the world to commence the resource mobilization conversation for
smallholder farmers in Nigeria and Africa and emphasize the urgency of action
required in the face of the current and growing food crisis,” she added.
On his part, AU Chairman of Food System, Dr Ibrahim Maiyaki,
said the challenges that will confront Africa in the next 20 to 30 years could
be tackled through three parameters: the continent’s knowhow, expertise and
leadership.
“The demographic challenge the continent is facing can be
turned into opportunities for Africa through inclusion, job creation and
ability to feed Africa and the rest of the world,” he stated.
Maiyaki called for strong regional integration through food
transformation as well as boosting of productivity and economic growth rates
through the right policies and governance objectives
Other dignitaries who attended the opening ceremony of the
high-level engagement include Chairman, Senate Committee on Cooperation and
Integration in Africa, Senator Nasiru Sani Zangondaura; Chairman, Senate
Committee on Information and National Orientation, Senator Eze Kenneth Emeka;
representatives of the Governors of Bauchi, Edo, Delta and Plateau States, as
well as members of the Diplomatic Corps.
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