Senator Jimoh Ibrahim has called on the federal government to address the rising hunger crisis in Nigeria by distributing food vouchers to low-income citizens.
Speaking during a press briefing with the Nigerian delegation at the 2024 IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington DC, Senator Ibrahim, Chair of the Senate Inter-Parliamentary Committee, emphasized that food vouchers would be more effective than the current cash transfer initiative in tackling food insecurity among vulnerable Nigerians.
He argued that food vouchers would directly alleviate food scarcity for approximately 5 million households—representing 25 million people—and maximize the benefits of recent economic reforms, including the removal of petroleum subsidies and foreign exchange adjustments. These reforms, he noted, should continue to focus on supporting the most vulnerable in society.
Finance Minister Wale Edun, who also attended the briefing, highlighted the government’s efforts to increase food production as a strategy to curb inflation, which is heavily influenced by food prices, contributing 50% of the Consumer Price Index.
He explained that current efforts include enhancing the wet season harvest and supporting small-scale farmers to ensure a robust dry season yield. Additionally, the government aims to assist 600,000 farmers to cultivate around 1 million hectares for wheat in November and rice in early 2024.
Minister Edun expressed optimism that these initiatives, combined with measures from the Central Bank of Nigeria to combat inflation, would ultimately stabilize prices and improve affordability for essential goods across the country.
(Vanguard)