Food Security: AFAN Suggests How To Avert Food Crisis, Boost Agriculture

The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) has expressed concern over the present skyrocketing prices of food items in the country and suggested intervention measures and the way out as well as how to boost agricultural growth.

As a measure to forestall the looming food crises and bring down the present skyrocketing prices of food items, the President of AFAN, Architect Kabir Ibrahim called on the Federal Government and other relevant agencies to ensure resuscitation of the Guaranteed Minimum Price (GMP), National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) as well as intervene to restock the Strategic Grains Reserve (SGR) between October and November 2021.

Arc Kabir Ibrahim said the looming dissertation in the food system by skyrocketing prices of food items can be tamed by taking decisive action in eight weeks when the new harvest will start entering our traditional food markets such as Dawanau, Saminaka, Giwa, Dandume, Sheme and several others across the country.

He noted that recently there has been a marginal drop in food prices in some parts o the country because early maturing crops have started hitting the market and the trend is likely to continue until it reaches a crescendo at the end of September and Mid-October.

He called on the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) to intervene through Strategic Grains Reserve (SGR) and the resuscitation of the Guaranteed Minimum Price (GMP).

“The right time to intervene by the FMARD through the SGR is at this point by resuscitating the GMP and transparently placing supply contracts.

“We must set up a separate produce purchasing committee comprising of upright individuals to work with the SGR to transparently perform this exercise.

“The SGR should be freed from any encumbrance occasioned by the concession done in 2016/17/18 which left it with a mere 400,000 storage capacity out of its bandied 1.3million capacity attained between 2008/2010.

“Whatever is strategically reserved can then be released in the first and second quarters of 2022 to mitigate any inflationary trends and this intervention can be done again during the same period in the last quarter of 2022 for the year 2023.” AFAN President said.

He said with these, the farmers will get a good price to be able to sustainably produce, the consumers will have fairly affordable prices and Nigeria will ultimately have sustainable food sufficiency and the much-desired food security to bring about sustainable development which will eventually lead to the attainment of the 17 Global Sustainable Development Goals in the medium term as well as the ultimate Agenda 2050.

Arc Ibrahim Kabir said to achieve these lofty ideals the following must be done: “Harmonize all the initiatives by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), National Agriculture Land Development Authority (NALDA), Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) and all cross-cutting efforts like the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI), Food Security Council (FSC), National Economic Council (NEC) etc in the Agriculture Space.

“Mr President should assent to the National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) and National Agriculture Development Fund (NADF) Bills being processed by National Assembly (NASS) as soon as they are presented.

“Reappraise the FMARD by appointing competent persons to drive it.

“Appoint a Special Adviser, who knows what to do on Food Security to work directly with the Food Security Council.”

According to AFAN President, “The current administration has taken very far-reaching initiatives to make Agriculture work in Nigeria and it must be commended and eulogized appreciably.

“One can list, albeit off the cuff, the CBN Anchor Borrower Scheme, the assent to several bills such as the Seed Act 2019, the Plant Variety Protection (PVP) Act 2021 among several others and the list is really endless!

“The obvious threat factor to the attainment of food sufficiency, however for now, is probity, competence and knowing what to do in the management of the entire food system and this calls for reinvigorating it by appointing capable and competent hands with integrity.”