FG assures food security as flood ravages communities 

Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, has assured that the Federal Government would achieve its food security target despite the floods destroying farmlands across the federation.

He revealed plans by the government to intensify efforts on dry season farming to recover the losses.

The minister, who gave the assurance in a tweet posted on his X handle, sympathised with thousands of farmers whose farms were destroyed by the catastrophe.

He recalled the recent figures released by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) indicating that the floods destroyed thousands of hectares of farmlands and displaced over 40,000 people.

Kyari said the development is worrisome, and would have a negative impact on the social and economic well-being of the rural farmers, especially the small-scale planters.

His words: “As we witness the devastation caused by the recent flooding in our agricultural heartlands, my thoughts turn to the hardworking farmers whose livelihoods have been swept away by the unforgiving forces of nature.

“The impact of this will be felt on the anticipated harvest this year, though we are hopeful it will have minimal effect on national food security.”

He further sympathised with the farmers who lost their crops as a result of the dry spell that lasted for weeks in some states in the North-Central, North-East and parts of the North-West and South-West.

He said the President had encouraged them to invest in technologies and practices that empower farmers to adapt to a changing climate to safeguard their livelihoods against unpredictable weather patterns.

RELATEDLY, the National Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission has identified with farmers in Argungu Local Council and other parts of Kebbi and Niger states whose produce where destroyed by the recent disaster.

In a statement issued in Minna by its Head of Press and Public Affairs, Nura Tanko Wakili, the commission described the incident as a very sad development capable of affecting the country’s drive to enhance sustainability and food security.

He quoted its Managing Director, Abubakar Sadiq Yelwa, as noting with concern the effects of the development on the livelihoods of the affected communities, and commended the Federal Government for its prompt response in setting aside N3 billion to support victims.