Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy has disclosed that the federal government has set aside N200 billion to tackle food insecurity in the country, noting that the amount would help bring down food prices and inflation.
Edun said that with 30 per cent of the world affected by the problem of food security, agriculture will play a critical role in addressing global food insecurity.
He said “Our success in this area is critical, and efforts are being redoubled. N200 billion has been provided by the Ministry of Finance towards the intervention programme.
“But I was talking to the Minister for Agriculture and Food Security just yesterday, and he said that we are still in the midst of the dry season harvest, which portends well for agricultural output and production, and together with other initiatives, especially at the state level, where the farms are, where the land is, the special agriculture processing zones and other initiatives portend well for increased food production, better performance for agriculture, which will immediately mean a faster-growing economy, and an attack on inflation in a substantial manner because, as we know, the index on inflation is 50 per cent made up of the food price index, which is elevated.
“So, therefore, we are looking at a situation where inflation comes down with another good wet season to harvest more food available, and as inflation comes down, it gives the monetary authorities a chance to stabilise the exchange rate. That gives an opportunity for interest rates to come down and for investment to kick in, thereby increasing productivity, creating jobs, and thereby helping to reduce poverty, which is Mr. President’s agenda.”
Mr Edun further said that in order to protect poor and vulnerable Nigerians with a view to lifting them out of poverty, the government has introduced several intervention programmes.
This, he noted, includes N60 billion for student loans, N500 million for 1 million nanoindustries at N50,000 each, as well as N100 billion for consumer credit.
“First of all, let me highlight the protection of the poor and the vulnerable at a time of heightened costs. Mr. President has committed to making sure nobody is left behind at a time of high inflation.
“So as we all know, as the chair of the presidential panel on social investment programme, the all-important direct payments to the poor, which is a veritable tool and the sharpest tool you can have for attacking increased living standards and helping people immediately, that programme has been restarted.
“It involves helping at least 75 million Nigerians and 15 million households with a payment of N75 billion in the immediate term. In order to make sure that the public trust is there in this process, we have a system that has been developed between the Minister for Communications Innovation and Digital Economy, the Minister for Health, the Minister of Youth, etc.
“We have come up with the globally best standard for providing direct payments. On the one hand, each person must have, and we’re hoping to get even to the lowest ward level and village level to have a need that individually identifies them.
“Secondly, their payment will most likely be through digital means, whether it is a BVN, which means a bank account, or a mobile wallet, and we have brought all the skills and technology to bear in Nigeria to help the mobile network.
