Hardship: How Govs Are Taking Steps to Combat Economic, Food Crisis

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

Following report by the Cadre Harmonisé (CH), that about 31.5 million Nigerians might experience food and nutrition crisis between June and August 2024, Nigerian governors have released  measures on how they have begun to tackle  the current food crisis and economic hardship in the country.
Cadre Harmonisé is a food and nutrition insecurity study conducted by the ministry of agriculture and food security in collaboration with other partners including the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

A report released by the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) yesterday and signed by its acting head of media, Halimah Salihu Ahmed, said the governors had taken several proactive steps to counter the present food crisis as well as the inherent economic hardships
According to the report from the NGF, “In Akwa Ibom State, the government is planning to establish an agency that will buy food items in bulk and then sell them at cheaper prices to the residents.

“Towards this end, the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, has forwarded to the House of Assembly a bill for the establishment of the agency.”
Quoting the spokesman of the Akwa Ibom State governor, Ekerete Udoh, the report stated that at the state capital, Eno, appealed  to  residents to be patient, while promising to sign the bill into law when passed by the assembly.

In Kano State, authorities raided warehouses where traders were suspected to have hoarded food supplies.
“In Yobe State government banned bulk purchases of grain from local markets to stop hoarding and exports across Nigeria’s borders, saying it was to “stem the tide of food scarcity and high cost of grains.

“In Niger State Governor Mohammed Umar Bago, announced a ban on the mass purchase of foodstuffs from local markets. He ordered security forces to confiscate trucks carrying products in bulk and “share the food to the people.
“In Enugu State, Governor Peter Mbah, said his administration will eradicate hunger and poverty in the state and unlock the rural economy through investment in agriculture and agro-industrialisation.
“Mbah, who was represented by the secretary to the state government, Professor Chidiebere Onyia, said this during the celebration of the 2023 World Food Day in Enugu.

“The governor said the state government was intensifying efforts to grow the economy of the state from $4.4 billion to $30 billion through massive investment in agriculture by attracting investors, empowering the farmers and opening the rural economy of the state.”
Also, the Ekiti  State Government said it had committed the sum of N1 billion to improve food production, especially to embark on land preparation, driven by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security’s tractorization subsidy scheme, and an input supply programme to support small scale farmers.
The government said it was also committing a whopping sum of N1.2 billion it recently got as first tranche of the World Bank-financed Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support ( L-PRES) Project to transform the livestock subsector.

According to the NGF report,  in Ekiti state,  the money would be spent on empowering livestock farmers, boosting livestock productivity as well as creating a conducive environment for youths and private sector involvement in livestock businesses.
In Zamfara State, last week, Governor Dauda Lawal, hosted the Sweden Ambassador, Annika Hahn-Englund, on partnership and how to grow the economy and address the current hardships
The report said the meeting aimed to create collaboration and partnership in critical areas of the economy, build long-term relationships, and implement transformative projects to benefit Zamfara State and its people.

According to the report from the NGF secretariat,  Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara State, who is also Chairman of the forum, in collaboration with the  Governors Agbu Kefas of Taraba State; Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State; and Ahmed Ododo of Kogi State with  the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS) to interface with the federal government and push for increased crop production to tackle food inflation and food shortages in Nigeria.
According to the report, Abdulrazaq explained that the Anchor Borrowers Programme that was previously implemented by the Central Bank of Nigeria did not achieve much.
He called on the agriculture minister to work hard to meet the food targets of government, as this was vital for the Nigerian masses, adding that governors would work with the ministry.

“We could not achieve much with the CBN Anchor Borrowers programme. It was very challenging. The issue of food security is a one-stop-shop and we need to concentrate on what we are doing. We need to concentrate on what we are doing for the dry season farming.
“The minister has come up with a programme on cassava, rice and maize and we want to engage in that programme and urgently make sure we improve on our yield and deliver to the Nigerian population.

“We want to get to a stage where we export our food. What we have now is that, because of the devaluation of our naira, Nigeria’s food is being exported to West Africa and is the cheapest in the region today.”
He explained  that the governors had “come to the realisation that we have a new Ministry of Agriculture, because over the last four years, before this administration, the engagement was not too productive.

Meanwhile,  the NGF secretariat has said the Lagos State, Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, expressed his government’s willingness to expand its relationship with the Netherlands in different sectors, especially the agricultural sector to ensure food security in the state.
The governor expressed this position while recently receiving the Netherlands Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Geoffrey Leeuwen, and his contemporary in Migration, Eric Burg, at the official residence of the Deputy Governor, Kadri Hamzat, in Ikoyi.

Hamzat, on behalf of the governor, stated that the bilateral relationship between Nigeria and Netherlands had existed for over 400 years, adding that his administration was ready to strengthen the existing relationship with the Netherlands in different sectors, especially agriculture.
In another related development, amid the high cost of food stuff, Sanwo-Olu has urged farmers in the state to collaborate with their colleagues in other states of the country to enable them bring their produce and sell in Lagos with the highest population in the country.

Responding, the agriculture minister, Senator Abubakar, commended the multi-partisan approach of Governor Adeleke to state governance, pledging to work on all the areas touched by the governor.