Abuja, March 5, 2024 – Abubakar Kyari, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, has blamed the current scarcity of food items on flooding, smuggling and the naira redesign policy of the last administration.
The minister said this at a sectoral debate organised by the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
He said flooding destroyed farmland across the country in 2023, while the naira redesign policy resulted in smallholder farmers lacking the necessary funds to cultivate their farms during the 2022/2023 period.
The minister also acknowledged the impact of insecurity on the food crisis in the country.
He said the president had directed the Ministry to do everything possible to mitigate the suffering of Nigerians.
The minister said about 5,000 tractors were currently working in Nigeria, but the country needed about 72,000 functional tractors to meet the growing needs of Nigerians.
He said his ministry had signed an agreement with a tractor manufacturer to supply 2,000 tractors annually in the next five years. (GBN)
