Recession: Reps move against food wastage

At a time when Nigeria is facing economic recession, the House of Representatives on Wednesday urged the Federal Government to urgently intervene in the infrastructural deficit in the agricultural sector in other to guide against food wastage in Nigeria.

The House also urged the National Orientation Agency to raise a campaign against food wastage in Nigeria in its “Change begins with me” campaign.

The House resolution followed a motion moved by Honourable Rotimi Agunsoye, who expressed worry about the alarming issue of food wastage and the imminent dangers it portends for the country.

According to him, Nigeria loses amounts running into billions of naira to food wastages, an amount which could have been injected into the economy.

The lawmaker equally said that, “A total of about 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted annually in Nigeria which could have been enough to cater for the food needs of hungry Nigerians.”

To this end, he said, “Nigeria would continue to plunge into more serious economic misfortunes if we do not check the common practice of food wastage,” stressing that “a large fraction of the Nigerian populace is faced with actual hunger and starvation or at the very least the threat of hunger and starvation.”

When the motion was put to vote by the Speaker, Hon Yakubu Dogara, it was unanimously supported by members.