FG vows to sustain decline in food prices with interventions

ABUJA – THE Federal Government, yesterday, vowed to sustain the decline in food prices with interventions across various agricultural value chains.

The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, stated this in his address at the opening ceremony the 47th Meeting of the National Council on Agriculture and Food Security, in Kaduna, Kaduna State.

Kyari also said the Tinubu-led administration was not relenting to ensure no Nigerian goes to bed with hunger.

He said: “Food sovereignty speaks to our control over what we grow, how we grow it, and how we consume it. Food security, in turn, ensures that every household has access to safe, affordable, and nutritious food.

“Together, they define the pathway toward an inclusive and resilient agricultural system that leaves no one behind.

“As we continue along this path, we are already beginning to witness a decline in food prices across several commodities, a reflection of ongoing targeted market interventions. While we are not yet where we want to be, this positive trend confirms that we are moving in the right direction.

“The first step toward food sovereignty is ensuring consistent, high-yield production through timely access to quality and affordable inputs. Guided by this, the Ministry, in collaboration with the African Development Bank and State Governments, has strengthened the National Agricultural Growth Scheme-Agro-Pocket (NAGS-AP) as Nigeria’s flagship programme for input delivery and productivity expansion.

“Through this programme, wheat production has continued to expand across the country, growing from 15 participating states in the 2023/2024 dry season to broader coverage in the 2024/2025 season.
“The increase in scale reflects our ongoing efforts to enhance production capacity and boost self-sufficiency in key staples.

“To strengthen national food security and stabilise prices, operations at the National Strategic Grain Reserve Silos in Zamfara, Katsina, Nasarawa, Adamawa, Niger, Osun, Edo, and Kwara States are being enhanced for greater efficiency and capacity. By integrating these facilities into the national food distribution framework, the Ministry is building a responsive system that ensures timely interventions during shortages and supports long-term food stability.”

According to the Minister, “Nigeria is charting a new course toward all-year farming and self-sufficiency in wheat production, bringing us closer to meeting our national demand from within.”
Meanwhile,he (Kyari) disclosed that the Nigeria Postharvest Systems Transformation Programme, NiPHaST, has been designed to strengthen post-harvest handling and storage systems.

According to him, the programme will dedicate 85 per cent of its interventions to the primary or community level, providing smallholder farmers with affordable, climate-smart storage solutions such as hermetic bags and metal silos, adding that it is aimed at cutting post-harvest losses valued at over $10 billion annually, while improving food quality, farmer incomes, and price stability nationwide.

In his remarks, Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Dr Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, emphasized the adoption of climate-smart agriculture to achieve long-term productivity.

“We must adopt climate-smart practices that increase crop yields while building resilience”, he said.

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