FG Vows to Combat Food Inflation with Production of 31m Tonnes of Grains in 2024

Gilbert Ekugbe

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has announced plans to combat food inflation, provide job opportunities and reduce poverty with the production of 31 million tonnes of grains in 2024.

The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, said the production of 31 Million MT of Grains in 2024 is also coming on the heels of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s emergency on food security.

The Minister stated this at the opening session of the 6th edition of Seed Connect Conference and Exhibition with the themed “Global declaration of food emergency – The role of the seed industry and ensuring Africa’s food and nutrition security’’.

Abdullahi stated that Nigeria’s seed requirement need for 5 major crops of Rice, Maize, Wheat, Soyabeans and Sorghum in 2024 is 312,555.69MT of seeds which is expected to give almost 31 million metric tonnes of grains.

In his welcome address, the Acting Director General, NASC, Dr. Ishiak Khalid, said that this year’s event has been dedicated to the global declaration of food emergency and the role of Africa’s seed sector in creating a sustainable food system to ensure access to nutritious and affordable food both now, and in the future.

Khalid stated that NASC will also be convening a national seed planning to bring stakeholders to plan for the 2024 planting season and how to achieve the national seed requirement.

In his remarks, the Netherland’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Wouter Plomp, stated, “The Netherlands – Nigeria Seed Partnership – a model of collaboration built on knowledge exchange and mutual, has been instrumental in advancing Nigeria’s seed sector, fostering the exchange of expertise, technology and best practices.” 

REAN: Solar Alternatives to Petrol Generators 20 times Costlier in Nigeria

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Renewable Energy Association of Nigeria (REAN) has said that even though solar alternatives to carbon-emitting electricity generators exist in Nigeria, they are about 20 times more expensive.

In a communiqué after its annual 2023 conference in Abuja, REAN noted that uninterrupted energy supply remains vital issue, explaining that the long-term availability of energy will depend on sources that are clean, affordable, and reliable.

It stressed that access to energy has been an enormous challenge in Nigeria, noting that up to 60 per cent to 70 per cent of the Nigerian population does not have access to electricity.

REAN added that the present power crisis in Nigeria will persist unless the country diversifies its energy sources for domestic, commercial, and industrial uses and adopts clean, reliable and sustainable sources of energy to meet the demands of its growing population.