The Federal Government has acknowledged the fact that there is hardship and “serious shortage of foods” in many families in the country presently.
This was disclosed to State House correspondents on Wednesday by the Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Chief Audu Ogbeh, when he was given a rundown of the meeting of the Federal Executive Council presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Accompanying Ogbeh at the briefing was the Minister of Women Affairs, Aisha Alhassan and the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina.
Ogbeh who expressed relief that regardless of the food shortage in the country, the situation was still not close to that of Venezuela that can no longer feed its people.
Ogbeh however assured Nigerians that the federal government is putting all effort together to address the present economic problems and in no distant time ” next one-and-half years, Nigeria would be self-sufficient in grains like rice, beans and others”.
Hence the council has approved the Agriculture Promotion Policy 2016-2020 tagged The Green Alternative.
He said the 129-page detailed document outlines the government’s policies and objectives to see agriculture as the best alternative in the administration’s quest to diversify the economy.
He said, “We are fully aware that there is a major concern in the country for food self-sufficiency in the country and that there is crisis in many families as a result of serious shortage of food.
“But we are working hard and thank God that ours has not become as bad as one South American country, which was also a major oil producing country. By that I mean Venezuela which situation is definitely a 100 times worst than ours.
“But the point is that where we believe that in a short while, maybe in another one year and half in the maximum, we should be reasonably self-sufficient in grains like rice, maize and beans.
“We may not achieve everything in wheat but we will be very close to our targets. Other things are also there in the roadmap. And that is what council endorsed this afternoon.”
