Agriculture
Why CBN Must Stop Forex for Food Import- Buhari

By Mathew Dadiya, Abuja with Agency Reports
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday, said the directive to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to stop providing foreign exchange for food importation was to improve agricultural production and attain full food security.
Buhari stated this when he hosted All Progressives Congress (APC) governors to Eid-el-Kabir lunch at his country home in Daura, Katsina state on Tuesday, according to a press statement by Malam Garba Shehu, the President’s spokesman.
According to the president, the foreign reserve will be used strictly for diversification of the economy and not for encouraging more dependence on foreign food.
“Don’t give a cent to anybody to import food into the country,’’ he said.
The President noted that some states like Kebbi, Ogun, Lagos, Jigawa, Ebonyi and Kano had taken advantage of the Federal Government’s policy on agriculture with huge returns in rice farming.
He, therefore, urged more states to plug into the ongoing revolution to feed the nation.
“We have achieved food security, and for physical security we are not doing badly,’’ he said.
Buhari said he was particularly delighted that young Nigerians, including graduates, had started exploring agric-business and entrepreneurship, with many posting testimonies of good returns on their investments.
He said the incoming ministers would be guided to meet the targets of the APC-led government for the people.
The president added that regular monitoring of their performances and scaling up of targets would be done by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
Buhari gave the assurance of attending the Presidential Policy Retreat organized for the ministers by the OSFG.
He insisted on compliance with laid down targets on key sectors of the economy that would directly impact on the livelihood of Nigerians.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, Gov. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti, said the President’s sense of justice and fairness had been inspiring to governors.
He said the challenges faced by states “were enormous’’, but the governors had remained undaunted, assuring the President of strong support and “the very best effort’’ to overcome the obstacles.
The Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, Gov. Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi, appreciated the President for the unique leadership style of maintaining a healthy relationship with governors on individual and collective basis.
He stressed that they had been “energized’’ to do more in their states.
The governor commended the President for making bold and courageous efforts to reposition the economy for majority of Nigerians through inclusive policies.
“The country is more secure than in 2015, and the country is more prosperous than in 2015 because you are working for the majority of the people,’’ he added.
Bagudu said the party had been repositioned, after the 2019 elections, to work for the benefit of the majority of Nigerians, noting that “there will two elections this year and we need to work towards winning the two states.’’
Agriculture
Ondo senator distributes fertilizers to constituents

The senator representing Ondo Central Senatorial District, Sen. Adeniyi Adegbonmire, has distributed fertilizer bags to farmers in the district as part of efforts to enhance agricultural productivity and contribute to Nigeria’s food sufficiency,
The beneficiaries were drawn from the six local government areas consisting of the senatorial district: Akure South, Akure North, Ondo West, Ondo East, Idanre, and Ifedore local government areas.
Speaking at the distribution of the fertiliser on Friday in Akure, Adegbonmire said the gesture was in tandem with the initiative of President Bola Tinubu’s efforts to boost food sufficiency in the sector.
The distributed fertiliers included 156 bags of NPK fertilizer and 68 bags of UREA fertilizer.
He said that he aimed at supporting production of various crops such as cassava, rice, cocoa, tomato, and maize.
Adegbonmire expressed his commitment to the senatorial district and assured that he would continue to do more for the district.
He said the move was a practical step toward achieving agricultural growth and ensuring a stable food supply within Nigeria.
According to him, the initiative underlines his commitment to supporting the constituents and advancing the nation’s agricultural sector.
Appreciating the gesture, Mr Adebiyi Oluwalanu, Chairman, Tomato Farmers Association in Ondo State, expressed the beneficiaries’ gratitude to the senator for helping them, saying that the move would boost their ability to produce more for citizens to consume.
Similarly, Mr. Adebayo Abayomi, the state Secretary of the Cocoa Farmers Association and Mr Akinriade Kayode, the state Chairman of the Maize Grower Association, said that the senator’s kindness would go a long way to cushion the effects of high cost of production.
Agriculture
FCT to partner Italy on sustainable city, tourism, agriculture – Wike

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, says the FCT Administration would partner with the Republic of Italy on sustainable city tourism and agricultural development.
Wike said this when the Italian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Stefano Leo, visited him in his office in Abuja on Friday.
He said that he would personally visit the Ambassador to discuss areas of mutual benefits for the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Republic of Italy.
The minister particularly identified the development of Abuja as a sustainable city as one of the areas of interest, including tourism and agricultural development.
“You know very well that Abuja has a very good landscape for agriculture and tourism development,” he said.
The minister explained that the publication of the names of embassies and commissions owing ground rent was not targeted at anybody, but to improve Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
According to him, the IGR will be utilised for development of the city.
He assured the ambassador that the FCT Administration would make the environment comfortable for embassies and commissions to carry out their activities and for businesses to thrive.
Earlier, Leo said that he was in the minister’s office to congratulate and wish him well in his.
He recalled how impressed he was when he visited Rivers in 2022, and expressed optimism that the minister would do better than he did in Rivers as a governor.
“Having you here in Abuja means we can continue our very good cooperation. I will be glad to host you at the Embassy,” he said.
He said that Italy was at the forefront of tourism, adding that the country had huge plans to support sustainable city development and new ideas for green city.
“It will be a pleasure to follow your ideas to strengthen cooperation with you,” the Ambassador said.
Agriculture
Relief for Kaduna Ginger Farmers as FG Intervenes

From Nicholas Dekera, Kaduna
Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, has assured the Ginger farmers, whose farmlands and produce were affected by the strange fungal disease in Kaduna recently of the Federal Government’s intervention.
The Federal Government assurance for succour came after few weeks that over two hundred Ginger farmlands and produce worth N10billion were destroyed in Southern part of Kaduna state.
The Minister, who was represented by the Assistant Chief Agric Officer; Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Mrs.
Rita Agbogo made the assurance of the Minister’s quick intervention during a visit to the affected farmlands in Southern Kaduna on Friday.The representative of the Minister, who was the leader of a five-man delegation to Southern Kaduna reiterated the commitment of the Ministry towards finding a lasting solution to prevent further re-occurrence of the disaster, and to ensuring that the affected farmers were provided with adequate support.
” We are already feeling the pains of our dear Ginger farmers, and that is why we are here on the mission damage assessment. With our visit to some of these farmlands, we have seen to what extent the damage was. We are going to recommend to the Ministry on what is the best way to help the affected farmers out of the present situation,” Mrs. Agbogo explained.
When asked, what could be the cause of the fungal disease, she said “we are yet to know the cause of the damage, and that is why we are here with other relevant organisations. We will make research and continue to liaise with these organisations in order to know the cause and prevent future re-occurrence.
” The cause could be the type of seeds, soil, source of the seeds, and it could be any other factor but, for now, we can not say what really happened,” she stated.
While fielding questions from journalists, the National President of the National Ginger Association of Nigeria, Nuhu Daudu commended the Minister for his quick response towards finding long-term measures to prevent further damage to the crop .
Daudu further explained that the damage will impact negatively on the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).