President Bola Tinubu on Sunday said the government has ordered mechanised farm tools from the United States of America, Belarus and Brazil to boost food production in the country.
The Nigerian leader disclosed this in a broadcast to address Nigerians who have been protesting against the high cost of living and “bad governance” in the past three days.
“In the past few months, we have also ordered mechanised farming equipment such as tractors and planters, worth billions of Naira from the United States, Belarus, and Brazil. I can confirm to you that the equipment is on the way,” the president said.
He explained that his administration is also providing incentives to farmers to increase food production at affordable prices. This is against the backdrop of a significant surge in the prices of major staple food items such as rice, maize, beans, and wheat, among others.
Similarly, over the past year, there has been a significant increase in the prices of farm inputs and labour costs, largely orchestrated by the government’s tough policies/reforms.
While acknowledging this, the president reiterated that he has directed the removal of tariffs and other import duties on rice, wheat, maize, sorghum, drugs, and other pharmaceutical and medical supplies for the next six months, in the first instance, to help drive down the prices.
“I have been meeting with our Governors and key Ministers to accelerate food production. We have distributed fertilisers. Our target is to cultivate more than 10 million hectares of land to grow what we eat,” the president said.
Mr Tinubu explained that the federal government will provide all necessary incentives for this initiative, whilst the states will provide the land that will put millions of Nigerians to work and further increase food production.
Source: premiumtimesng.com
