President Bola Tinubu on Thursday directed the immediate release of fertilizers to farmers and grains to households to mitigate the effects of the subsidy removal.
This was disclosed by the Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy, Dele Alake, while briefing State House correspondents after consultations with key stakeholders in the agricultural sector at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
“There will be an organic synergy between the Ministry of Agriculture and the use of water resources to ensure adequate irrigation of farmlands and to guarantee that food is available all year round.
“As a country, Mr. President has made it clear that we are no longer comfortable with seasonal farming. We can no longer afford to have farming downtime”, Alake said.
The President’s spokesman further explained that the Federal Government will partner with states to create ranches in those that are willing to avail lands, adding that the ranches will have sections dedicated as grazing reserves.
Speaking further, Alake said “We will establish ranches in collaboration with state governments and the federal government will pay for the land.”
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He said the federal government will activate land banks nationwide, which currently stand at 500,000 hectares mapped “to increase the availability of arable land for farming which will immediately impact food output.”
“In an earlier meeting with Agriculture Stakeholders (today), we drafted a memorandum of partnership between the government and the individual stakeholder representatives that encompasses the decisions taken and actions proposed from our engagements.
“The immediate intervention strategies are as follows: We will immediately release fertilizers and grains to farmers and households to mitigate the effects of the subsidy removal.
“There must be an urgent synergy between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Water Resources to ensure adequate irrigation of farmlands and to guarantee that food is produced all-year round.
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“We shall create and support a National Commodity Board that will review and continuously assess food prices as well as maintain a strategic food reserve that will be used as a price stabilisation mechanism for critical grains and other food items.
“The Central Bank will continue to play a major role in funding the agricultural value chain.
“We will Increase revenue from food and agricultural exports. As we ensure there is sufficient, affordable food for the populace, we will concurrently work on stimulating the export capacity of the Agric sector.