Nigeria may Experience Worse hike in Food Prices Beyond 2021
Two stakeholders in the agricultural sector have said that the country may experience a worse hike in food prices beyond 2021, unless urgent steps are taken to save the situation with the trend of insecurity, poor farming activities, lack of access to credit facilities among other factors militating against agriculture and food security in Nigeria.
The National President of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Kabir Ibrahim, said, with the present skyrocketing of food prices, it is going to be more costly for the nation to feed itself if there is no bumper harvest from the 2021 wet and dry season farming.
Learn MoreREAD ALSO: Check out the huge figures of children sacked from six LGAs of Benue by armed herdsmen in 2021
Ibrahim called on the Federal and State governments to work the talk in agriculture thereby targeting the real farmers and to consider evidence-based policies and programs, taking lessons from interventions and other countries that have been successful.
“We don’t even have a policy for agriculture up till now, the one we had expired, we must work our talk in agriculture, and target the real farmers, we must move towards agricultural investment, mechanisation, quality seed and amend our water resources for dry season farming.
“With the present skyrocketing of food prices, if the 2021 harvest is not bumper, it is going to be more costly to feed ourselves further”, he said.
READ ALSO: Good News for Maize Farmers
Also, National President of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Ezekiel Ibrahim, who spoke in an interview said, the poultry industry is at the verge of shutting down as most farmers can’t cope with the high cost of production materials due to insecurity, climate change and hoarding.
Ezekiel who noted that the Association has been drawing the attention of the government to take drastic action for the country to be food secured, said many Nigerians can’t eat what they were eating in the last five years as small and medium-sized poultry farms, which are major players in the industry, are shutting down, thereby threatening millions of jobs created by the industry.
“Since 2019, we have been saying let us import maize and soybeans so that we will keep our agro industries floating, which means we are maintaining employment rate. As at today, most factories and poultry farms have closed, the ones that are producing now are producing at a loss, if they continue, sooner or later, they are going to close down”.
“This will not only heighten the crime rates but increase malnutrition. We have never had the worst experience as we are experiencing today, a lot of people can’t afford anything in the market currently.
“The economy of any nation depends on its purchasing power and many Nigerians go to bed today without eating food. We must secure this nation to allow farmers to go to farm and give credit facilities to genuine farmers.
“If we are serious, we can transform this country in three years, we have vast land and very productive youths. we should use what we have, mobilize the youths and make agriculture attractive so as to make it business, we can always do rainy season and dry season farming”, he said.
Follow us on Twitter for more cutting edge news and articles
Click here to join World Farmers Centre Whatsapp group to get and read more articles like this
To Sponsor or Advertise through a News Post, contact Ola on 07082418202
-Advertisement-
We do everything possible to supply quality information for farmers day in, day out and we are committed to keep doing this.
Your kind donation will help our continuous research efforts.
