President Muhammadu Buhari has said his administration’s wisdom in promoting self-sufficiency averted what could have become a major food crisis in the country over the last four months as the world went under lockdown due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
Buhari who made the statement yesterday, at the National Food Security Council meeting in Abuja, also said he's pleased with Nigerians who keyed into his administration initiative toward boosting the agric sector of the economy.
He also lauded farmers for contributing to the stability in food security, saying the favourable rainy seasons should serve as enough encouragement for majority of citizens to take up farming.
A statement by the president’s media aide, Femi Adesina, quoted him as saying there was need to increase food production and self-sufficiency even as he assured that Federal Government would continue to promote policies that favour investments in the agricultural sector.
“The coronavirus pandemic has illustrated more than any event in recent history how countries must strive harder to protect food systems. It has also exposed the limits of dependency on other countries. In the last five years, we have recorded notable achievements.
"Despite the decline in GDP by 6.1 per cent in Q2 of 2020 as a direct result of coronavirus, the agricultural sector continued to grow because of government targeted policies. I am pleased to note that most Nigerians are taking advantage of the opportunities in the agriculture and agric-business sector. I want to assure you that this government will continue to support these initiatives and many more to come,” he said.
He also said efforts would be channeled to innovative ways of farming to guarantee maximum output.
“To protect agricultural investments and boost confidence to our farmers, we have deployed thousands of agro-rangers and integrated rural communities to the formal economy by extending access to credit and inputs to rural farmers and building feeder roads. We have invested in building our strategic grain reserves in recent years which we recently released significant quantities to cushion the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to vulnerable households and industries,” he said.