The Federal Government has allayed
fears in some quarters that the
country would experience famine
in 2017, saying that it has put in place sufficient
mechanisms to achieve food security
in the country.
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural
Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, while
giving the assurance at an interactive session
with journalists in Abuja, said the
government was engaged in the buyingback
of assorted grains under the Guarantee
Minimum Price Programme for restocking
of strategic silo complexes with a
total capacity of 2.5 million tons of grains.
A statement issued by the Director, Information
in the ministry, Tony Ohaeri,
quoted the minister as disclosing that
farmers in some states had already commenced
preparation for the dry season
farming to ensure adequate food security
in the country.
Ogbeh assured that the Buhari-led administration
was poised at make farming
an all year round activity by creating
dams and lakes in every part of the country
to support irrigation system, noting
that crops thrive and yield better through
irrigation system.
“Nigerians have no reason to panic, we
have made arrangement for some states
to start planting so that we have second
crop by April”, the minister said
Ogbeh noted that Morocco was endowed
with phosphate deposit which
Nigeria could benefit from for farming
operations and disclosed that Nigeria
had signed an agreement with the government
of Morocco on fertilizer production
which would yield one million tons
through local production in order to boost
food production in the country.
He reaffirmed that the introduction of
soil -specific in fertilizer application by
his Ministry would also go a long way in
increasing high crop yield in the country.
The Minister explained to journalists
that 30,000 slots allocated to the Ministry
under the N-power scheme of the Federal
Government would be trained through the
Agricultural Development Programmes
(ADPs) as Agric. extension workers who
will serve in their respective local government
areas.
He hinted further that the ministry
had acquired 110 various capacities of
rice mills of 10 tons, 20 tons, 50 tons and
100 tons per day for distribution to cluster
farmers to boost rice production and milling
capacity in the country as a way of attaining
food sufficiency.
Ogbeh admitted that the country was
witnessing strong purchase of their
grains from as far as Namibia and other
countries which signaled a challenge as
well as beneficial for Nigeria’s farmers to
have market for their farm produce.
He assured that market forces would
be stabilized through an increase in local
production of food commodities.