Suppose all goes well with the weather before year-end. In that case, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Mr Abubakar Kyari has promised countrymen and women facing shortages to expect a bumper harvest soon.

The Minister was a guest on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics programme anchored by the host, Seun Okinbaloye who referenced the lack of food in households as one of the reasons for the ongoing #EndBadGovernance demonstrations going on around the country.

ALSO READ: There are talks and no luck as Nigeria tries to quickly bring food prices down

Since 1 August 2024, protesters have taken to the streets to let their grievances known over the difficult scenarios a new government led by President Bola Tinubu is making them go through. The president in an early morning address yesterday morning had asked for the demonstrations to come to an end but that request has largely been ignored because his speech had failed to impress.

One of the issues the minister highlighted as the problem with costly food prices is the shrinkage of land mass for [agriculture], flooding, habitation problems, and insecurity but he says the president seeks to address these.

About October-November this year; that is when we are going to have the harvest. We are expecting a bumper harvest hopefully, barring any other natural issues. God forbid! says Mr Kyari.

We have a lot of deficit in road infrastructure for farmlands, access to credit for instance. That is why right now, the National Council of Privatisation has directed the restructuring and recapitalisation of the Bank of Agriculture so as to provide credit to smallholder farmers and even large scale private sector.

According to the minister, the problem with insufficient food to go around homes is the result of Nigeria’s population growing rapidly beyond the country’s agricultural output. In 2023, adds Mr Kyari, we are expected to reach about 400 million in the year 2050. The rate of production is lower than the rate of the population.

To address food shortages leading to price hikes in the markets lies in mechanised farming. Being that the majority of farmers in the country currently manage obsolete tools like their hoes to cultivate their fields, there is a need to upgrade the system to improve productivity.

The 5-year roadmap we signed at Belarus is for the implementation of a proposed yearly plan to achieve the following:
– Supply 2000 tractors to Nigeria
– Supply 9022 units of assorted agricultural implements
– Supply 9022 sets of spare parts
– Establish 52 service centres… pic.twitter.com/Kh5vCHcPI9

— Sen. Abubakar Kyari, CON (@SenatorAKyari) June 9, 2024

We have ordered. It’s not like chewing gum; you don’t buy it off the shelf, right? I went to [Minsk in Belarus] where we have ordered 2000 tractors and 9,000 other implements. Trailers, ploughs, harrows, planters, boom sprayers – about 9000 pieces of them.

So far, the current administration has only overseen only one full farming season which is the dry one that started around October last year. The months of June and July have been termed the lean season which is why the government has opened room for imports.

ALSO READ: Will ₦40,000 bag of rice calm calls for August 1 hunger protest?

Meiza Nigeria