Wednesday 14th August, 2019
KATSINA, Nigeria, Aug. 14 (Xinhua/GNA) – Nigerian
President Muhammadu Buhari says the most populous African country has achieved
food security with the steady improvement in agricultural production.
Speaking to visiting governors of the ruling
party at his hometown of Daura in the northwestern state of Katsina, Buhari
said Nigeria’s apex bank had been directed to stop providing foreign exchange
for importation of food into the country.
The foreign reserve will be conserved and
utilized strictly for diversification of the economy, and not for encouraging
more dependence on foreign food import bills, Buhari said.
He said some states had already taken
advantage of the government’s policy on agriculture with huge returns in rice
farming, urging 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.
The president said he was particularly
delighted that young citizens had started exploring agric-business and
entrepreneurship, with many posting testimonies of good returns on their
investments.
The Nigerian economy took a hit from
declining oil revenues in 2015, forcing the government to seek economic
diversification.
Agricultural development has been chosen as
one of its key goals to help address the country’s dependence on food imports.
GNA
