The Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI) has said that President Bola Tinubu was tackling food inflation with the accelerated approval of 500,000 hectares of land for cultivation across the country.
This, it said, was being done in collaboration with state governments as part of an effort to stem food inflation.
TheHintsNews reports that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in December 2023 revealed that food inflation in the country has hit 33.93 percent.
However, the Chairman of the group, Niyi Akinsiju, made this known during a press conference on the performance analysis of President Bola Tinubu’s eight months.
He noted that considering its review of President Tinubu’s policies in the last eight months, it could objectively submit that the administration has performed creditably well despite the enormous institutional, economic headwinds and domestic challenges it has had to contend with.
Akinsiju states: “As part of our evaluation of the nation’s economy under the present administration, we reviewed the national inflation rate, especially the food inflation, the latest of which the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reporter to be at 33.93 percent for December 2023.
“This rate should naturally exert concerns, however, our findings have shown a commitment by the President to stemming the tide of rising food prices and ensuring food security by approving the accelerated cultivation of 500,000 hectares of land across the country in collaboration with state governments.”
Akinsiju said to crystallise the policy, the administration has introduced an irrigation programme to facilitate and guarantee all-year round farming.
He pointed out that the investigation of the group within the general purview of agriculture indicated the deployment of several policies including waivers on the importation of tractors and farm implements.
Akinsiju stressed that the recent launch of dry season farming in Jigawa State and the allocation of N102 billion to the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADFUND) to mention just a few, adding that these measures would guarantee adequate food supply in the shortest possible time.
On security, the group noted note with special interest the approval of N50 billion for the establishment of the Pulaaku Initiative, a non-kinetic approach to tackling insecurity which emphasizes the provision of social amenities like schools, hospitals, housing and sanitary facilities in the seven pilot states of Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Kaduna, Benue, Katsina and Niger.
He stressed that this was a creative and pragmatic intervention that would most likely change the narratives around insecurity in the country.