Emefiele’s Naira Redesign Policy Blamed for Farmers’ Losses, Agriculture Minister Reveals
The Federal Government declared on Monday that the naira redesign policy implemented by the previous administration had driven farmers into financial ruin.
The issue of the naira redesign surfaced during a session at the National Assembly where the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, defended his ministry’s budget.
Appearing before the joint committee chaired by Senator Saliu Mustapha, Kyari emphasized that the primary goal of the 2024 budgetary proposals for the sector was to achieve food security in the country.
Kyari attributed the financial hardships faced by farmers to various factors, including insecurity and the naira redesign policy initiated about a year ago by former Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Godwin Emefiele.
“The cash crunch caused by the naira redesign made most farmers sell their produce at giveaway prices for survival, as buyers struggled to access cash,” Kyari stated during his presentation. He further pointed out that the policy, coinciding with the harvest season, left farmers financially drained.During the session, lawmakers, including Dahiru Haruna representing Toro Federal Constituency in Bauchi State and Ademorin Kuye from Shomolu Federal Constituency in Lagos State, emphasized the urgent need to address the country’s high rate of hunger, largely attributed to insecurity.Haruna painted a grim picture of hunger, stating,
“The pathetic picture of people dying of hunger on a daily basis while the majority of those surviving feed once a day calls for concern.”Ademorin expressed skepticism about the efficacy of stocking silos, referencing past attempts that did not yield intended results.
In response, Minister Kyari assured the lawmakers that all raised concerns were being addressed and would be decisively tackled in the 2024 fiscal year.
He reiterated that food security topped President Bola Tinubu’s eight-point agenda.
Kyari outlined steps being taken to ensure food security, including certifying available planting materials, transparently delivering fertilizers and agro pesticides to farmers, and fast-tracking the National Agricultural Development Fund’s operations.He also mentioned efforts by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources to unlock irrigation potentials, ensuring year-round food production. Kyari disclosed that for the 2024 fiscal year, the agricultural sector was allocated a total of N362.940bn, with N124.1bn earmarked for the ministry.
Credit Punch News