In response to rising food prices due to inflation, President Bola Tinubu has instructed a Federal Executive Council committee to take swift action towards making food more affordable, accessible, and in good nutritional value to the citizens.
The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, announced the directive at a workshop for Senate Correspondents held in Abuja. Abdullahi described how the FEC’s first goal is to secure transportation corridors to get farm produce to market, as this will cut logistics costs, which often push food prices high.
Abdullahi’s obligation, as the Minister, goes beyond food availability. The president made it clear that food has to be affordable, accessible, as well as have good nutritional value.
The federal government is now moving forward with a Farmer Soil Health Scheme to start boosting yields and supporting soil fertility. The government is also reviving cooperative reforms, which will enable the mobilization of resources to financially empower rural farmers.
Transport bottlenecks continue to plague the movement of food, and these same bottlenecks exacerbate the fragile state of the food system. Abdullahi shared the view that a significant portion of the farm products do not make it to state markets and human communities. This forces some people to consume products that are spoiled.
The president reinforced the importance of cooperatives by articulating that they are always the engine for rural development. Strengthening cooperatives will improve productivity and the incomes earned by farmers, the president said.
While critics argue that the federal government action and responsiveness is slow, this action from the presidential office is the first signal for urgency at the committee level. So the FEC committee will need to report progress quickly, thus making the citizens to notice and appreciates the responsiveness of their actions.
The execution of the plan will include coordination between ministries; agriculture, transport, infrastructure and cooperation from each state. If the coordination goes as planned, analysts believe the relief will be significant for many families struggling with high food prices.
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