A document from the Food and Strategic Reserve Department (FSRD) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shows that President Muhammadu Buhari approved the release of 130,040 metric tons of food from the Strategic Food Reserve as a form of intervention to states where there is a severe food crisis.
The most prominent was the release of 70,000 metric tons of assorted food items in 2020 to cushion the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the document which was obtained by Nigerian Tribune, the FSRD while listing some of its achievements from 2018, said it released 3,180MT to IDPs in Nasarawa & Benue States in the year 2018.
The document further stated that also in 2018, President Buhari ordered the release of 2,000MT of millet to WFP as food assistance to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the North Eastern States of Yobe, Borno and Adamawa.
In 2019 according to the document, the President approved the release of 5,000MT of assorted food items to Sokoto, Zamfara, Benue and Bayelsa States in 2019.
In 2020, President Buhari ordered the release of 70,000MT (2,333trucks) of assorted food commodities to vulnerable frontline States, to cushion the effect of COVID-19 pandemic.
The document further stated that in the same 2020, there was another release of 5,000MT of maize to Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) as approved by the Presidency.
Another 3,380MT of assorted cereals was released to support the vulnerable populace affected by insurgency, communal clashes and armed banditry in 2020.
Furthermore in 2020, another 1,480MT of food was distributed to internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Kaduna and Katsina States through State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs)
.There is an ongoing release of 35,000MT of food to the vulnerable in states internally displaced persons and women groups for 2022.
Also in 2022, President Buhari approved the release of 5,000MT to poultry association of Nigeria (PAN).
But with the concessioning of 19 silos by the Nigerian Government in 2019, the country is expected to earn N18 billion.
According to the Director of Food and Strategic Reserve at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Engr Haruna Suleman, the government concessioned the storage space to the private sector, to enable farmers to have access to storage facilities.
Engr Suleman said this effort by the government was to reduce post-harvest losses which farmers especially those in the rural areas suffer year round.
“In addressing these problems, the federal government has been able to lease out the silos to the private sector, and we have been able to establish grain aggregation centres that will be able to clean, dry and bag products. This lease agreement of silos to private sectors will attract N18 billion to Nigeria”, he stated.
