The Federal Government on Thursday said that it was considering the importation of food items to help mitigate rising prices and hunger, if the situation persists after its current intervention measures.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Idris Mohammed stated this while brieirng State House Correspondents after an emergency meeting of presidential committee on food security held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
“The government is also looking at the possibility, if it becomes absolutely necessary as an interim measure in the short run to also import some of these commodities immediately so that these commodities can be made available to Nigerians immediately within the next couple of weeks.,” Idris noted.
The Information Minister announced that in the interim, President Bola Tinubu approved the immediate release of about 42,000 metric tons of maize, millet, garri and other commodities in the national strategic reserve, while another 60, 000 metric tons of rice will be provided by Rice Millers Association, to be made available to Nigerians.
READ ALSO: NNPCL set to deliver gas revolution with OB3 pipeline project
According to him, a directive has also been given to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to invest massively in conjunction with Nigerian farmers and other producers so that the country experiences better season coming up shortly.
The Minister explained that all of these are measures that are taken to immediately, and as an emergency measure bring down the cost of food items.
“In the long run, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture is going to invest massively, so that Nigeria will recover its potential as a food basket, and we don’t expect that going forward,we are going to be faced with these challenges again,” he stresses.
The Minister also explained that President Tinubu has vowed that whatever it will take, the government will ensure that food is made available to Nigerians and at a cost that is also reasonable.
A recent report by the Cadre Harmonise launched by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with the federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security,revealed that Nigerians, numbering over 26.5 million including Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are expected to plunge into acute food insecurity between June and August 2024.
