The Governor of Kwara State, and the Chairman of Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), AbdulRahman Abdulrazaq has said that food in Nigeria is the cheapest in West Africa.
The Kwara State Governor stated this when he led Governor Taraba State, Agbu Kefas, Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Ododo and Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa to a visit to the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security.
AbdulRazaq regretted that Nigeria could not achieve much with the CBN Anchor Borrowers Programme, which he described as very challenging.
“Nigeria’s food is being exported to West Africa is the cheapest in the region today.
“We have also noted that food in Nigeria is the cheapest in West Africa and our neighbours are using our food to trade. They are taking our soya bean and other stuffs to make foreign exchange for themselves
“That is not a bad thing, what we need to do is to ramp up production and increase yield per hectare so that we can feed west Africa, feed ourselves 100 percent and export food. That is the goal we must achieve.
Furthermore, Governor AbdulRazaq noted that the issue of food security is a one stop shop and Nigeria needs to concentrate on what it is doing for dry season farming.
“We have come to the realisation that we now have a new Ministry of Agriculture. Because over the last four years, before this administration, the engagement was not too productive because the CBN had taken over most of what the Agric Ministry was doing. Our trips to the ministry at that time were not fruitful”, he added.
Earlier, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari said the aim is to vastly increase agricultural production all-year round with the cardinal objective of driving down food inflation, creating employment, reducing poverty, engendering economic growth and development, as well promoting inclusivity. We are confident that we can partner in the realization of these objectives.
Kyari informed the governors that he has sent out Expression of Interests to the Governors of the 36 States and FCT ahead of the second phase of the Dry Season Food Production Programme under the National Agricultural Growth Scheme and Agro-Pocket (NASG-AP),
to which responses have been encouraging.
There is no question that if we get things right now, and without an iota of doubt with all hands on the plough, future programmes and projects will enable us more seamlessly achieve all-year-round agricultural production with beneficial consequences for Economic Empowerment, Inclusivity and ultimately wider opportunities for Value Addition, Food and Nutrition Security as well as Industrialization.
