Chief of Staff to the President, Mr Ibrahim Gambari speaking on Thursday, September 10 2020 during the National Food Security Council meeting, held at the State House, Abuja said the hike in prices of food items should be seen as a transient situation.
Mr Gambari said the recent prices of grains show a significant decline which suggests that the decrease would soon be reflected across the country as new products are brought into the market.
He said, “Yesterday, my office as the secretariat, National Food Security Council, met with the agricultural commodity association to ascertain the root causes of the recent spike in food prices and craft mitigating strategies to what could be a potential crisis.
“Although various concerns were raised on the root cause of the increase in commodity cost, we have been informed that prices are actually on the decline as new grains have been introduced to the market.
“For example, new maize which was previously sold for N25,000 per bag is now being sold between N12,000 and N17,000, and it’s expected to fall between N7,000 and N8,000 per bag by November 2020, according to the various leaders of the agricultural commodity association. The price decline has also been experienced in millet, beans, and sorghum. The hike, therefore, is to be seen as a transient situation”.
According to Mr Gambari, President Muhammadu Buhari and his administration attach importance to the issue of National food security and it is time the nation pivots its attention and resources to how it can improve yield per hectare, even as key actors in the agric space are championing increased hectares under cultivation.
He reiterated that this new shift will be a significant boost in the government’s determination to strengthen its objective in achieving food security.
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