What FG Must Do To Avert Looming Food Crisis – Atiku

Former Vice president, Atiku Abubakar, has Implored the federal government to be proactive and take drastic measures in stemming the tide of food crisis before things get out of hand.

Atiku appealed to the Federal government not to disregard the warning by  Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations on Wednesday of acute food crisis in Northern Nigeria is afoot.

In a statement signed by the presidential aspirant of the peoples democratic party (PDP) in 2019, Atiku bemoaned the federal government indifference and abstention from the food crisis and agriculture conundrum in the country.

He said “That dire warning should be seen and heard as a whistleblowing moment that ought to draw the focus of the Federal Government, being that Northern Nigeria is the food basket of the nation, and any famine there will have a national impact on the rest of the country and cross border impacts in the West African sub-region.

“The laissez-faire approach taken by the Federal Government to this most important issue is regrettable. Food security is a vital part of national security, and where this issue is not resolved, the resultant crisis may unsettle the nation and her immediate neighbours”

Atiku said to address the food crisis, the federal government must provide adequate security for farmers and other agricultural value chain, he added that the provision of seedling for farmers as it was done during the last administration must also be prioritised.

“The major cause of the present and looming dearth of food is insecurity. Farmers and other agricultural value chain workers cannot go to their farms due to the crisis of insecurity. I should know. I am heavily invested in large scale farming, and employ a workforce of over 10,000 in the endeavour.

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“What ought to happen is that the Federal and State governments should establish a Food Security Military Taskforce to work in farming clusters, to provide security for the nation’s farmers. We must give confidence to our agriculture workers, so that the sector can get on with the job of feeding the nation.

Atiku said “In addition to this, the Federal and State governments ought to place a temporary moratorium on all loans to the agricultural sector in the affected states, by declaring a Force Majeure in the sector. We cannot expect small, medium and large scale farmers to service debts when they are not even able to access their farms and other businesses in the agricultural value chain.

“Thirdly, the Federal Government has to intervene by providing free seedlings and fertilisers to the end users. This is a policy that worked to reduce hunger levels in Nigeria when Dr Akinwumi Adesina introduced the e-wallet policy. Perhaps it is time to reintroduce and ramp up that scheme.

“If we cannot feed ourselves as a nation, we do not survive. This is the textbook definition of an emergency.

” It is my hope that we can remove politics from this vital area of our national life and address this crisis before it becomes a calamity”

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