The Borno State governor and chairman of North East Governors Forum, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, has tasked his counterparts in five North East states to invest in food and agricultural raw materials to tackle economic hardship in the sub-region, saying, palliatives is not a permanent solution.
The governor, who said this during the opening ceremony of the 10th North East Governors Forum at the Government House, Bauchi, added, “As we all know, the rising cost of food in the country has worsened and we need to put more effort in revamping the economic condition in our sub-region in arresting this situation because palliative is not a permanent solution.
“We need to commit our self-sufficiency in food and agricultural raw materials, and the social transformation of the sector will remain unshaken. We need to modernise and raise the productivity of the agricultural sector through the provision or acquisition of appropriate technologies.”
He said the governors must not lose sight of the need to encourage domestic production of commodities in line with policies and programmes to tackle the rising cost of food in the sub-region.
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“We need to have focus in making our sub-region self relying to such occasional problems. We must always seek to maintain a healthy balance between short-term relief and the medium and long goals of our policy.
“Our economy needs resuscitation, and this is a task that requires collective and concerted efforts from all and sundry,” he also said.
The meeting had in attendance, governors of Taraba, Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe, Borno and the host state, Bauchi.
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