‘Replenishing strategic grain reserves will cushion effect of food scarcity’

As many Nigerians continue to groan under the current food inflation which stands at 17.38 percent, an expert has advised the Federal Government to replenish strategic grain reserves so as to cushion the effect of food scarcity in the country.

Speaking against the backdrop that Nigerians are now suffering the crunch of food inflation in the midst of a recession, Dogo Muhammed, managing director of Gouria Rice, told Businessday that dry season farming of rice and maize should be facilitated immediately so that by June 2921 there would be enough grains to feed the nation.

Muhammed said if there could be three cropping cycles of rice, maize and sorghum annually, the issue of food security would be properly addressed.

He was of the view that hoarding of foodstuff by middlemen was what created food scarcity in the country and therefore called on government at all levels to gather enough intelligence in unravelling warehouses where foodstuffs were unfairly stocked so that people could have access to such places.

The rice farmer said so long as the country encourages importation of services and finished goods/products into the country, it was importing poverty and unemployment.

He pointed out that such collateral damage would further deepen and perpetuate the slide into severe recession with more serious consequences of insecurity and instability.

Muhammed said he did not see Nigeria recovering from the recession in the Q4 2020. He however expressed optimism that if Federal Government would continue to roll out other interventions, it could cushion the effects of the recession in the Q4 of 2020 and Q1 of 2021.

“Nigeria’s economy sliding into recession is largely due to the global effect of the Covid-19 pandemic and Nigeria cannot be an island. Another reason is the sharp fall and continues unpredictable prices of crude oil globally,” Muhammed said.

“Naturally, I don’t see Nigeria recovering from the recession in the Q4 of 2020. Even though Nigeria is the fastest growing economy on the continent, there is a second wave of Covid-19 round the world.

“SMES are part and parcel of the formal sector of the economy however, the palliatives that the FG is rolling out and other interventions could cushion the effects of the recession in the Q4 of 2020 and Q1 of 2021.

“Hoarding of foodstuff by middle men created the scarcity and the law of demand and supply came into play. The government at all levels must, as a matter of urgency, gather enough intelligence and get those warehouses where foodstuffs are unfairly stocked to get them released for the populace to have access to it.