The House of Representatives on Tuesday tasked the Federal and State Governments on the urgent need to end the lingering food insecurity through mechanised agricultural revolution across the country.
The resolution was passed sequel to the adoption of a motion sponsored by Hon. Clement Jimbo, who solicited the House intervention.
While noting that the Parliament is saddled with the task of making laws for the Peace, Order and Good Governance of the Federation as enshrined in Section 4(2) of the 1999 Constitution, Hon. Jimbo averred that Nigerian State has the responsibility to “harness the resources of the nation and promote national prosperity and an efficient, a dynamic and self-reliant economy.
“The House is also cognizant that according to Food and Agricultural Organisation, agriculture remains the foundation of our country’s economy, providing livelihoods for most Nigerians and generating millions of jobs.
“The House acknowledges the efforts of the Federal Government intervention strategies which includes: (a) release of fertilizers to farmers and grains to households (b) activation of Land banks amongst others.
“The House is aware that Nigeria has a total of 70.8 million hectares of agricultural land of which 34 million hectares are arable land which maize, rice, cassava, guinea corn, yam, palm oil, beans, etc grow effectively with less soil improvements.
“The House is also aware that the Bureau of Statistics with the support of World Bank and Food and Agricultural Organization recently released the National Agricultural Sample Census Report 2022 that captured a total 40.2 million agricultural households in Nigeria.”
According to him, the report further states that “Agriculture remains a cornerstone of Nigeria’s economy, supporting millions of livelihoods and contributing significantly to the nation’s GPD. Despite its importance, the sector has faced numerous challenges, including outdated and insufficient data which have hindered effective planning and resource allocation.
“The National Agricultural Sample Census addresses this gap, offering a detailed and accurate picture of agricultural activities at the household level which is essential for driving growth and development.
“The House is further aware that millets, sorghum, maize, groundnuts, beans, rice, tomato, carrot etc grow very well in the north while cassava, yam, maize, palm oil, cucumber, maize, cotton etc do very well in the south.
“The House is concerned that despite huge financial resources appropriated in the budget and implemented and human resources dissipated by 40.2 million households, they have not addressed the current food insecurity in the nation.
“The House is worried that the current high cost of food products caused by insufficient food availability due to high demand but low supply can lead to malnutrition, psychological distress and other outcomes including depression.”
In the bid to address the concerns, the lawmakers urged the Federal Government in collaboration with state governments to demarcate a minimum of 18000 hectares of arable land in each of the six zones and name it Geo Agricultural Zones.
Hence, the House also mandated the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to apportion these demarcated arable lands according to comparative advantage in crop cultivation.
To this end, the House further mandated the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to appoint seasoned Agriculturists in each zone and called them Geo Agricultural Zone Project Managers (GaZPM) with the sole mandate to cultivate these lands using mechanization and proceed stored in National Food Bank of the nation.
In addition, the House urged its House Committee on Agricultural Production and Services to monitor compliance.