Insecurity: 16 states risk major food crisis – Reps

The House of Representatives says with the worsening insecurity in the country, food shortage and crisis have spread with projections showing that at least 16 states will face a major food crisis.

It said the problem had been compounded with terrorists laying siege on farms, kidnapping farmers, sacking villages and forcing farmers to pay a ransom before accessing their farms. 

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The House asked its agricultural-related committees to interface with appropriate ministries and agencies as well as international development partners to begin the process of establishing and implementing protocols to manage food resources and mitigate the looming food crisis in Nigeria.

This followed the adoption of a motion by Reps Rimamnde Shawulu and Solomon Bob.

Shawulu, in his lead debate, cited a recent report by the Central Bank of Nigeria showing that the nation’s food import bill increased by 45 per cent to $2.71bn within 12 months in 2021.

He noted that the world generally was apprehensive of an impending massive shortage of food and possible famine following the Ukraine-Russia war.