President Bola Tinubu announced a state of emergency on food security on Thursday in Abuja.
The President also agreed that all issues concerning the availability and affordability of food and water, as vital livelihood goods, be brought under the purview of the National Security Council.
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This is followed by the rapid distribution of fertilisers and cereals to farmers and households in order to alleviate the consequences of the subsidy termination.
Dele Alake, Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communications, and Strategy, stated this to State House Correspondents on Thursday evening following meetings with key agricultural stakeholders at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
“We will immediately release fertilisers and grains to farmers and households to mitigate, the effect of subsidy removal” Alake said.
“There will be an organic synergy between the Ministry of Agriculture and the use of water resources to ensure adequate irrigation of farmlands and the availability of food all year.”
“As a country, Mr. President has stated unequivocally that we are no longer content with seasonal farming. We can no longer afford to have downtime in the farm.”
According to the Presidential assistant, the federal government would work with states to establish ranches in areas where land is available.
He also stated that grazing reserves will be established on the ranches. “We will establish ranches in collaboration with the state government, and the federal government will pay for the land,” he explained.
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According to Alake, the FG will activate land banks around the country, which now have 500,000 hectares mapped, “to increase the availability of arable land for farming, which will immediately impact food output.”
Meanwhile, the Central Bank has instructed middlemen who are keeping grains to release them because prices are likely to decline once the FG begins to distribute grains.
