Nigeria is making arrangements to give food aid to the government of Niger Republic where millions of people are faced with food insecurity.

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Agriculture, Alhaji Nojeem Awodele, said in Abuja that Nigeria had in stock 110,000 tonnes of grains in the National Strategic Food Reserve from where some would be sent to the people of Niger.

Awodele said the gesture was a demonstration that the government was not only sensitive to the plight of the Nigerians but to neighboring countries as well.

“We are to give them some percentage but we have not concluded yet and the World Bank is even ready to buy from us to give to them,” he said.

“We have not gotten the accurate statistics, the Nigeria Emergency Management Authority (NEMA) is doing that,” he added.

Awodele gave assurance that the assistance would not cause any food deficit in Nigeria and added that besides being self-sufficient in food production, the government had also put various measures in place to ensure adequate food security for the country.

He said part of the efforts, in the direction, was to increase the National Strategic Food Reserve capacity from 300,000 tonnes to a million tonnes, to meet the food security target.

The ongoing food crisis in Niger Republic had given room for illegal exportation of grains ; mostly rice, maize, cowpea, tubers, millet and sorghum and other agricultural products, to that country, from the northern parts of Nigeria.

Source African Press Agency

African News from NetNewsPublisher.com

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