Dare Babalola
Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, has disclosed his satisfaction with naira’s recent drop in food prices nationwide, saying the federal government’s focus is now on tackling high cost of farm inputs like fertiliser, irrigation systems, and fuel to sustain progress.
Speaking with journalists after attending a Senate public hearing in Abuja, Kyari said the Tinubu administration is working to make critical agricultural inputs more affordable and accessible to farmers through credit facilities and partnerships with the private sector.
He said, “I’m happy with the crash of food prices but it’s the inputs that we’re working on. Fertilizers, irrigation, fuel, and other essentials.
“We are trying to create mechanisms that will allow farmers to access credit and, at the same time, cheaper products for farming.”
Kyari said the government’s intervention will cover not only staple crops but also other key agricultural produce like onions, tomatoes, and peppers.
“When we talk about fertilizer and inputs, it won’t be only for staple food; it’s for everybody, onions, tomatoes, peppers, and other agricultural crops,” he added.
On the issue of post-harvest losses, Kyari disclosed that the ministry has initiated a legacy project focusing on community-level storage facilities.
“We have already made a legacy project on post-harvest losses, which includes storage at the community level, not the silos that are situated in urban areas.
“We are driving a new harvest silos programme where about 85 percent of storage will be located within rural communities to replace the old, inefficient silos,” Kyari added.
Kyari said the initiative is supported by the New Growth Infrastructure Fund and the National Agriculture Development Fund, aiming to improve Nigeria’s agricultural value chain and reduce food wastage.
The minister recalled, “In 2020 and even before last year, food prices were high. This year, we’ve seen that prices have gone down, but we are not where we want to be yet. We are still on the trajectory toward even lower food prices.”
Kyari assured that ongoing reforms in the agricultural sector are part of President Bola Tinubu’s renewed commitment to ensuring food security and rural prosperity under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
“Our goal is to make sure that every farmer, big or small, has the tools, inputs, and storage facilities needed to contribute to national food security,” Kyari said.
