FG sends 2,700 fertiliser trucks to states

PUNCH 10th July 2024
By  Tope Omogbolagun

 

As part of efforts to address the food crisis in the country, the Federal Government is sending 60 trucks of fertiliser to each of the states of the federation.

Each of the 109 senators will also receive two trucks of fertiliser for distribution to farmers in their constituents, while the 360 members of the House of Representatives will get one truck each to distribute in their constituencies.

The Senate, which disclosed the plan on Tuesday while debating on the food crisis at plenary, called on the Federal Government to expedite action on the fertiliser distribution.
The call followed a motion moved by Senator Sunday Karimi, representing Kogi West and co-sponsored by Senator Ali Ndume of Borno South at the Tuesday plenary.

The motion titled, “Urgent Need to Address Food Insecurity and Market Exploitation of Consumables In Nigeria,” noted that in the last few months, the price of goods and household consumables had been on an abysmal rise in the country, leading to a high rate of inflation, weakened buying power, and general worsening of living conditions of the vast majority of Nigerians.
Karimi further noted that the latest data released by  Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics showed that “food inflation in the country skyrocketed to 40.66 per cent on a year-on-year basis, a significant increase from the 24.82 per cent recorded in May 2023.

“The current market price of food items such as beans, maize, rice paddy, yam, tomatoes, and onions, which initially rose by about 40 per cent after the removal of petroleum subsidy, has now increased to over 100 – 300 per cent without any attributable reason for the increase in prices.”