By Faridat Salifu
The Federal Government has announced plans to beef up the nation’s food reserves as part of efforts to stabilise food prices, support farmers, and enhance year-round agricultural production across the country.
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, disclosed this on Thursday during a working visit to agricultural facilities in Kaduna, alongside the Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Abdullahi Aliyu, and other stakeholders.
Kyari said the initiative forms part of the government’s broader strategy to strengthen the Strategic Food Reserve and ensure financial liquidity within the agricultural sector, particularly ahead of the dry-season farming period.
“Very soon, we are going to stock up our strategic reserves. This will provide financial stability for the sector and allow farmers to continue farming all year round,” Kyari said.
He acknowledged farmers’ concerns about fluctuating food prices despite rising input costs, assuring them that the administration of President Bola Tinubu is working to strike a balance between affordable food for citizens and fair returns for farmers.
According to him, efforts are underway to address the high cost of agricultural inputs such as fertiliser and chemicals, which remain major constraints for smallholder farmers.
During the tour, the minister commended the growing interest of Nigerians in food production, processing, and value addition, describing it as evidence of the success of President Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope Agenda” on food security and food sovereignty.
Among the facilities visited were Olam Agri, TMDK Agro Park, DEBRANCH Farmers, Afriexim Bank Quality Assurance Office, and Tomato Jos a leading agribusiness in Kaduna focused on processing locally grown tomatoes into paste for domestic consumption.
Mira Mehta, Chief Executive Officer of Tomato Jos, said the company operates a state-of-the-art processing plant and works with over 350 smallholder farmers, most of whom are women.
She said the company’s mission is to promote local production for local consumption, thereby reducing dependence on imported tomato paste.
“We aim to empower rural farmers by providing a consistent market for their produce and modern farming support,” Mehta said, noting that the company has invested over 20 million dollars and cleared more than 300 hectares of irrigated land for dry-season farming.
She, however, identified challenges such as market access, policy inconsistencies, the importation of cheap tomato paste, and pest infestations like Tuta Absoluta as obstacles to growth in the tomato industry.
Mehta appealed to the government and private food companies to support local producers by patronising homegrown tomato products.
Nigeria currently operates 33 grain silos nationwide, with a combined storage capacity of about 1.136 million metric tonnes a resource the government hopes to maximise under its renewed focus on food reserve and agricultural resilience.
