Okwe Obi, Abuja

Farmers under the umbrella of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) have said the flash flood recorded in different parts of the country would adversely affect 2020 farming season which would lead to poor yield.

National President of AFAN, Kabir Ibrahim, who made this known in a statement, noted that the floods in June up to early August washed away crops and livestock, enough to make the farmers apprehensive of imminent food shortage.

Ibrahim explained that already “wheat offal is going for close to N5000 per 50Kg. The poultry industry is in distress because of the scarcity and prohibitive cost of the energy component of poultry feed!

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“The skyrocketing prices of staples and grains such as maize selling for N18,000 per 100Kg scare the living day lights out of us.

“All these compounded by the COVID-19 still around us as much as when it impeded access to our farms during the complete lockdown portend a serious disaster to  the food system.”

To mitigate the crisis, he appealed to government to reestablish the Guaranteed Minimum Price (GMP), and also solicited the signing into law the Bill for the reestablishment of the National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA).

He added that th, “National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF) should be established as soon as possible. A seed fund should be established as soon as possible; A Special Adviser on food security should be appointed as soon as possible.”