Food Security: Farmers Seek Additional 600,000MT Silos

As a way of containing the heightening food inflation, Nigerian farmers have advised the federal government to create additional 600,000 metric tonnes Silos to complement the existing grain reserves and guarantee the populace against food crisis.

In addition, they craved the resuscitation of the Guaranteed Minimum Price (GMP) which a revolving fund can drive, under the supervision of the Food Security Council (FSC).

Nigeria, with over 206 million people currently battles a food crisis brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic and also insecurity caused by banditry, insurgency and herders/farmers crisis.

Specifically, the farmers want the additional silos to be located in the six geographical units of the country with each having a capacity for 100,000 metric tonnes to serve as food banks.

The request by the farmers’ association is based on the shortage of foods in the country’s 23 strategic reserves located across the country and the increasing prices of food items in the market.

Before the outbreak of the pandemic, Nigeria reportedly had a paltry 100, 000 metric tonnes in its 23-grain reserves which total capacity is put at 1.3 million metric tonnes.

It would be recalled that out of the 100, 000 metric tonnes, President Muhammadu Buhari last year ordered the release of 70, 000 metric tonnes to cushion the effect of the scarcity brought about by the lockdown at the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The National President of AFAN, Kabir Ibrahim, in an interview with Insidebusiness.ng explained that it is time for the current administration to rally agric stakeholders to outline an agenda that must include restoring the grain reserves and setting up of the additional six silos to salvage the current food crisis before it gets out of hand.

The farmers wanted the additional silos of 100,000 metric tonnes in each of the six zones to be managed by the Strategic Grains Reserve (SGR) and to be supervised by the Food Security Council (FSC).

Experts have predicted the current food crisis in the post-Covid-19 era and Ibrahim urged the government to restore the food reserves for an adequate supply of food to its citizens.

The AFAN national president also urged the resuscitation of the Guaranteed Minimum Price (GMP) which he said, should be implemented via a special committee through the Strategic Grains Reserve (SGR) and directly supervised by the Food Security Council.

The GMP is a price support mechanism that will ensure farmers obtain fair prices for their produce. It is a pre-determined remunerative price the farmer will get for a given uniform measure of his produce.

Ibrahim said this is achievable with the set up of a special revolving fund to drive the GMP in years 2021 and 2022.