President Bola Tinubu has declared a state of emergency on food security to control the adverse effects of the removal of petroleum subsidy on vulnerable Nigerians.
Announcing the measures on Thursday at a media briefing, Dele Alake, Special Adviser on Special Duties, Communication and Strategy, said the move was in line with the administration’s position on ensuring that the most vulnerable are supported.
Accordingly, he said that all matters pertaining to food & water availability and affordability, as essential livelihood items, will be included within the purview of the National Security Council.
He said as a direct and immediate response to this crisis, several initiatives will be deployed in the coming weeks to reverse this inflationary trend and guarantee future uninterrupted supplies of affordable foods to ordinary Nigerians.
The presidential aide revealed that the federal government will create and support a National Commodity Board that will continuously review, assess food prices and maintain a strategic food reserve.
While noting that as with most emergencies, there are immediate, medium- and long-term interventions and solutions, he declared that in the immediate term, the government intends to deploy some savings from the fuel subsidy removal into the agricultural sector focusing on revamping the agricultural sector.
Alake revealed that in an earlier meeting with agriculture stakeholders, a memorandum was drafted between the government and individual stakeholder representatives that encompasses the decisions taken and actions proposed from their engagements.
He gave the actions as follows: “We will immediately release fertilizers and grains to farmers and households to mitigate the effects of the subsidy removal.
“There must be an urgent synergy between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Water Resources to ensure adequate irrigation of farmlands and to guarantee that food is produced all year round.
“As a country, Mr President has made it clear that we cannot be comfortable with seasonal farming. We can no longer afford to have farming times.
“We shall create and support a National Commodity Board that will review and continuously assess food prices as well as maintain a strategic food reserve that will be used as a price stabilisation mechanism for critical grains and other food items.
“Through this board, the government will moderate spikes and dips in food prices.”
The Special Adviser noted that to achieve this, stakeholders have been brought on board to support the intervention effort of the administration including the National Commodity Exchange (NCX), Seed Companies, National Seed Council and Research institutes, NIRSAL Microfinance Bank, Food Processing/ Agric Processing associations, private sector holders & Prime Anchors, smallholder farmers, crop associations and Fertilizer producers, blenders and suppliers associations among others.
He further said: “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.
“The Central Bank will continue to play a major role in funding the agricultural value chain.
“Activation of land banks. There are 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.
“Mechanization and land clearing- The government will also collaborate with mechanization companies to clear more forests & make them available for farming
“River basins- there are currently 11 river basins that will ensure the planting of crops during the dry season with irrigation schemes that will guarantee continuous farming production all year round, to stem the seasonal glut and scarcity that we usually experience.
“We will deploy concessionary capital/funding to the sector, especially towards fertilizer, processing, mechanization, seeds, chemicals, equipment, feed, labour, etc.
“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 3rd lowest in the world, are improved for increased productivity.
“Transportation and Storage: The cost of transporting Agricultural products has been a major challenge (due to permits, toll gates, and other associated costs).
When the costs of moving farm produce are significantly impacted – it will immediately be passed to the consumers, which will affect the price of food- the government will explore other means of transportation including rail and water transport, to reduce freight costs and in turn impact the food prices.
“As for storage, existing warehouses and tanks will be revamped to cut waste & ensure efficient preservation of food items.
“We will Increase revenue from food and agricultural exports. As we ensure there is sufficient, affordable food for the populace, we will concurrently work on stimulating the export capacity of the Agric sector.
“Trade Facilitation: Transportation, storage and export will be improved by working with the Nigerian Customs, who have assured us that the bottlenecks experienced in exporting and importing food items as well as intra-city transportation through tolling will be removed.”
Alake assured that one of the major positive outcomes of the interventions will be a massive boost in employment and job creation.
He said cognizant of the fact that food and water are the bedrock of survival, the administration will want all Nigerians to partner with it in ensuring the success of this strategic intervention.
“This administration is working assiduously to ensure that Nigerians do not struggle with their essential needs.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu wishes to use this medium to continue to assure Nigerians that this administration will not relent in its efforts until all strategic interventions are deployed efficiently and effectively and until every household is positively impacted.
“Our president is the president of all Nigerians and the father of the nation. The renewed hope mandate remains alive and no one, absolutely no one, will be left behind,” Alake stated.
With Alake at the media briefing was the acting Comptroller General of Customs, Wale Adeniyi; Special Adviser to the President on Revenue, Zach Adedeji; Special Adviser on Trade and Investment, John Uwajumogu, among others.
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