The Federal Government has blamed COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war for the rise in food prices, saying bandit attacks on farmers have not affected the level of food production in the country.
Mohammad Abubakar, the minister of Agriculture, said attacks on farmers have prevented access to farms in the northwest and north-central regions in Nigeria, but the government had deployed Agro-Rangers, to improve security.
The Minister said food inflation is driven by the COVID-19 outbreak and the war between Russia and Ukraine.
He said the insecurity is a concern for the government, but production has not dropped to any significant level.
Abubakar revealed this on Thursday, August 4 during a ministerial explanation, he said: “Truly, if they cannot completely access farms all over the country, you will expect a drop in production, but right now we are doing everything possible to make sure both production is maintained through that security provision.”
The Minister explained that “When COVID came, it affected a lot of things including food production and the after effect of that is what we are still facing and that will lag for some time before it is stabilized. I believe the price of rice has dropped a little bit and we are still working on it.
“The whole world is currently reeling out of COVID and now battling the consequences of the war in Ukraine and Russia, but things will stabilize and the ministry of agriculture is doing everything possible in terms of addressing the problem; we are not relenting so that the prices will come down faster.”
The minister’s statement comes after reports emerged of how farmers have been prevented from accessing their farmlands, especially in several states in the north, due to bandits’ attacks.
ALSO, READ
