The Sorghum Farmers Association of Nigeria (SOFAN), has commended President Bola Tinubu for declaring state of emergency on food security.
The President of the association, Alhaji Lawal Gada, made the commendation when he addressed newsmen on Saturday in Abuja.
According to Gada, the action of the president could not have come at a better time than now when the world is facing myriad of challenges militating the food supply chains in the world, Nigeria inclusive.
He said that the declaration would greatly make Nigeria more self reliant in food production, hence be made more food secure.
The president also sadly recalled how the global food supply chains were affected by the recent COVID-19 pandemic.
Gada said: “The world’s global food supply chain is currently being disrupted by the ongoing Ukraine/Russian war, especially wheat and fertilizer.
“The border closure by the last administration also took a negative toll on the food supply chain in the country.”
The declaration of the state of emergency on food security will therefore insulate Nigeria from such obnoxious effects and several related ones.
“It will also encourage more Nigerians to invest more funds in agricultural and agro-industrial activities in the country.”
In the same vein, Gada stated that the declaration would create more direct and indirect jobs in the country.
He said that it would also shore up the nation’s.economy and result in the spike of its external reserves.
The SOFAN national president further happily noted that Nigeria was now self sufficient in sorghum production.
Gada added: “We are also currently exporting sorghum to Niger republic and other West African countries.
“Sorghum is a very resilient crop that easily adapts to climate change and it’s multitude of negative effects including food production.
Another comparative advantage of sorghum is that it is being produced in almost all parts of the country.”
“Sorghum is not only a food crop, it is now an industrial and cash crop as well.”
He, therefore, averred that the commodity direly needed more support from the Federal Government.
The SOFAN national president also said that such interventions from the Federal Government would help to address some of the most formidable challenges inhibiting adequate food production in the country.
He listed such interventions to include the timely supply of fertilizer, pesticides and other farm inputs.
Gada also called on the Federal Government to accord priority attention to some farming communities that were ravaged by flood in 2022 and previous years.
In the same vein, the SOFAN president appealed for more measures to boost security in the nation, with a view to bolstering food production.
He pledged: ”We are therefore ready to partner with the Federal Government to effectively facilitate the realisaton of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
“This is more so in the direction of helping the Federal Government to achieve the desired impact of the declaration of the state of emergency on food security.”
NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA
