A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, has asserted that President Bola Tinubu’s subsidy on farm inputs will significantly assist farmers in increasing production and bolstering food availability despite the current high inflation in the country.
Oyintiloye commended President Tinubu for approving a 50 percent reduction in the cost of agricultural inputs for farmers to facilitate the commencement of dry season farming in the country.
Addressing journalists in Osogbo on Sunday, Oyintiloye acknowledged the country’s current food inflation, citing National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) figures indicating a 31.5 percent increase. He pointed out that the average price of one kilogram of locally sold rice rose by 68.10 percent on a year-on-year basis, and the average price of one kilogram of brown beans increased by 39.90 percent.
He stated, “The approved farm input subsidy by the federal government was timely, as it would reduce food inflation in the country. President Tinubu’s assurance to Nigerians to transform the agricultural sector by making food security the number one priority has started yielding positive results.
“We need to commend President Tinubu for this 50 percent subsidy on farm inputs. This will go a long way to boost food and nutrition security, attract private sector investment, reduce post-harvest losses, as well as add value to local agricultural produce in the country.
Oyintiloye expressed confidence that Tinubu’s interventions in the agricultural sector, including fertilisers, improved seeds, mechanisation, and grants, would result in positive changes in food prices and increased surpluses in the coming days.
He also urged the federal government to engage directly with subsistence and large-scale farmers and other stakeholders in agriculture through their various associations to facilitate access to government intervention programmes, making Nigeria self-sufficient in terms of agricultural produce and ensuring affordable food prices.
DAILY POST recalls that the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, had announced on November 25 that the federal government would support 250,000 wheat farmers with a 50 percent input subsidy to cultivate about 250,000 hectares during the dry season.
