The Minister of State for Agriculture, Aliyu Abdullahi, says contrary to fears expressed in some quarters, Nigeria is not close to being at risk of food scarcity.
He said that President Bola Tinubu understands the importance of food security which prompted him to declare a state of emergency just two months after he assumed office.
“Let me react to the headline I saw you talking about, risk of food scarcity. Nigeria is not at risk of food scarcity; it has not been and will never be by the grace of God,” Abdullahi said on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Wednesday.
“What I want to say here is that when you say scarcity, it means that it is not even available. Nigeria has not suffered from that but what has happened is that there are dynamics, the economics behind food goes beyond just the immediate sector, there are macro-economic issues.”
He said that in addition to the food silos managed by the Federal Government, several states have adopted the buffer stock strategy and have stocked food as their buffer, which further improves food security.
The Minister argued against the narrative that Nigeria is not food-sufficient, insisting that as long as one can go to market and find all types of food there should be no need for alarm.
‘Nigeria meeting rice production demand’
According to the minister, Nigeria has gone far in meeting its demand for rice production. adding that the country’s rice production is sufficient, but the taste buds of Nigerians still crave imported ones.
“We have gone really far in meeting demand for rice production in this country. The local rice we produce is sufficient, what has happened is our taste buds have a preference for imported ones,” he said.
Abdullahi assured Nigerians that President Tinubu is determined to reverse food inflation which has been on the high side recently and stabilise it to a point where every Nigerian can eat whatever kind of food they want.
