Labour Party, LP, presidential candidate in the 2023 election Peter Obi has stressed why the federal government, FG, should invest in agriculture as a means of food supplies and revenue generation.
The former Anambra governor in a tweet on X platform, Monday, noted that the food crisis in the country has become a major challenge facing its citizens according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).
In his words, “As the global community marks World Food Day today, we must remind ourselves of the present food crisis in the nation, and seek urgent steps to salvage the people from further hunger and starvation.
“as the country is reported by Global Hunger Index to be facing a serious hunger level. With more than half of the population living in poverty, a report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has shown that over 90 million Nigerians face food insecurity, thus posing obstacles to a healthy population and human development.
“In the 2023 Global Hunger Index, Nigeria ranked 109th out of the 125 countries measured, showing that we currently battle high levels of hunger.
“Reports have it that Nigeria’s food inflation rate in August 2023 was about 30 percent on a year-on-year basis. Consequently, a vast majority of Nigerians spend the entirety of their disposable income on food, which is often hardly enough.
“The horrible spate of attacks on farmers in Nigeria by armed and terror groups have continued to hinder food production, food supplies and therefore, threaten to push the country deeper into a devastating hunger crisis. Lack of adequate investment in agriculture also contribute greatly to food crisis in Nigeria.
“I have maintained that the vast fertile lands in the North, if put into productive agricultural use, will produce enough food for domestic consumption and for exports, which can give us more revenue than we generate from oil.
“Government, therefore, must invest heavily in agriculture, to ensure sufficient food production for Nigeria and the global world. Happy World Food Day.”
