Farmers in the country on Wednesday kicked against the move by the federal government to reopen land borders.
The farmers said that doing so at the time prices of food items were on the increase locally may be dangerous. Daily Trust reports
They said neighbouring countries that relied on Nigeria for food and other necessities would troop into the country and by implication, the prices of such commodities would go higher.
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed, said yesterday that President Muhammadu Buhari will soon receive a report of a presidential committee constituted to advise him on the reopening of the nation’s borders.
This disclosure raised hopes that the president might soon reopen the land borders that were shut since August 2019.
The closure of the borders had also caused serious setbacks for all neighboring countries.
Hajiya Ahmed, while reacting to a question on when Nigerian borders would be reopened at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Buhari, said the committee had assessed the gains of the closure.
Members of the committee are ministers of finance, budget and national planning, interior and foreign affairs.
She said once members of the committee sign the report, it would be submitted to the president.
The finance minister was, however, silent on the exact day they would submit the document and the day the borders would be reopened.
“Mr President has set up a committee that I chair, alongside the minister of foreign affairs and other ministers, including interior, customs, immigration, the security services, to review and advise him on the issue of the border closure.
“The committee has just completed its work and we will be submitting our report, I have signed my copy, I gave everybody to sign between today and tomorrow so that we submit the report to Mr President,” the minister said while fielding questions from State House reporters.
Closure remains best option
The National President of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Arch. Kabiru Ibrahim, told Daily Trust on the phone yesterday that most foods produced in Nigeria usually find their way to the neighbouring countries, adding that reopening of borders would make such movements much easier.
“Farmers are harvesting their produce but yet prices of food items are on the rise for some other factors; so if you open the borders and allow free movement of the products to our neighbouring countries, what do you think will happen, it will be disastrous,” he said.
The farmers’ leader also reminded the proponents of the reopening about the new wave of COVID-19 infections, adding that taking such action at the moment would further worsen the situation.
The Minister of Agriculture, Mohammed Sabo Nanono, had recently expressed his opposition to any border reopening plan, saying it will not be of the best interest of farmers.
In an exclusive interview with Daily Trust, the minister said taking such action now would retard the gains made so far in the country’s food sufficient drive.
Local farmers said although the border closure had led to the increase in prices of other items in the country, the decision remained the best for them.
Mallam Nuhu Ayuba, a rice farmer told our reporter on phone that policymakers should handle the move with caution, adding that reopening the borders at the moment would erode the gains and the sacrifices made by Nigerians so far.
‘’We know the prices of many other items have gone high and are affecting the country but if we are to sustain our food sufficient efforts, the borders must remain closed at least for now,” he said.
However, a poultry farmer, Mr John Shagbaya, called for a temporary reopening of the border to address the feed crises facing the poultry industry.
‘’You can see the price of maize and soybeans have gone up, which means local production cannot still meet our demand. The border should be re-opened at least temporarily to enable importation of maize and soybeans to cushion the effects of the high cost of birds’ feeds,” he advised.