Flood: Farmers raise the alarm over looming food shortage

Published by

5 years ago

FILE PHOTO

FARMERS in Nigeria have said that the country may experience shortage in food because of flood which is being experienced around the country.

National President, All Farners Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Kabir Ibrahim, in a statement, said despite the windows of support to the farming communities from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other sources which have been impactful, getting a bountiful harvest is already being threatened by the floods

“As one traverses the nation from Dankama in Katsina State to Dutse In Jigawa State, Birnin Magaji in Kano State, Osogbo in Osun State, Ogbomosho in Oyo State, Nkwere in Imo State, Calabar in Cross River State etc. it’s all green signifying a potential bountiful farming season.

“The floods in June up to early August all over the nation have washed away burgeoning crops and livestock enough to make the farmers apprehensive of imminent food shortage, though!

“For those of us living in the fringes of the Sahara our large ruminants are mere skeletons because animal feed is very costly and very hard to come by. Wheat offal is going for close to 5000 per 50Kg”, he said.

Furthermore, the AFAN President added that “the poultry industry is in distress because of the scarcity and prohibitive cost of the energy component of poultry feed!

“The skyrocketing prices of staples and grains such as maize selling for 18,000 per 100Kg scare the living day lights out of us.

“All these compounded by the COVID-19 still around us as much as when it impeded access to our farms during the complete lockdown portend a serious disaster to the food system”.

According to him, several measures can be taken to mitigate the effect of a worst case scenario.

“The GMP (guaranteed minimum price) for produce should be re-established; the Bill for the reestablishment of the NFRA( National Food Reserve Agency) should be signed into law immediately and the NADF(National Agricultural Development Fund) should be established as soon as possible.

Other measures include, “the establishment of a seed fund as soon as possible, the immediate appointment of a Special Adviser on Food Security as well as the of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reappraisal through a PIVA (Partner Institution Viability Assessment).”

YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

More Shocks As Unemployment Data Exposes Misery Status Of Nigerians
BEFORE now, economic and finance experts found it difficult to assess the healthy nature of the labour market and how to measure the impact of government policies targeted at creating jobs because of lack of real time labour data. But on Friday, August 14, 2020, the concerns were only slightly eased as the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) published second quarter (Q2):2020 labour statistics, the first report since Q3:2018…

MONDAY LINES: Obasanjo’s (D)Art Of Condolence
Ben Guriano of The Washington Post described them in 2018 as ‘taboo enforcers.’ These are trolls seeking to upend truth and subvert facts about the life and times of the dead. ‘Do not speak ill of the dead’ came originally from a Spartan philosopher, then it was latinated by the Romans to read De mortuis nihil nisi bonum – and got spread around the world like Chinese viruses. The black man, as in all cases, contracted the no-no and turned it into a religion, got drunk with it and won’t mind killing for it…

2.4 Million Households To Benefit From FG’s Stimulus Package — Presidential Aide
TO ensure food security for citizens, at least 2.4 million households will benefit from the Federal Government’s post-COVID-19 stimulus package, a presidential aide says. Dr Andrew Kwasari, Senior Special Assistant (SSA), to the President on Agriculture, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja. Kwasari spoke against the backdrop of projects anchored by the Nigerian Economic Sustainability Committee (NESC) to secure the economy against the effects of COVID-19…

SERAP Demands Withdrawal Of Broadcasting Code Seeking To Sanction Contents ‘Insulting’ Leader
THE Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sent an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, urging him to “urgently instruct the Minister of Information and Culture, Mr Lai Mohammed, and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to withdraw the apparently illegal broadcasting code and memo threatening to sanction any broadcast that denigrates, disrespects or insults the president, governors…