Army deploys officers to protect farmers in North

The Nigerian Army said it has deployed officers in several of the northern states, to protect farmers, this is expected to boost harvest and improve the safety of farmers.

According to a statement by the Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Edward Buba, the deployment was made particularly in the North West and the North Central states.

The move has since “enabled several farmers access to farmers for a hitch-free planting season towards a bumper harvest.”

This comes as the country battles food shortages which have worsened the food inflation put at over 40 per cent by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s inflation figure reached a new high, hitting 34.19 per cent in June 2024 before declining to 33.40 per cent in July, according to the data from NBS’ Consumer Price Index.

Giving a breakdown, the NBS stated, “The food inflation rate in June 2024 was 40.87 per cent on a year-on-year basis, which was 15.62 per cent points higher compared to the rate recorded in June 2023 (25.25 per cent).

“The rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis was caused by increases in prices of the following items: millet whole grain, garri, guinea corn, etc (bread and cereals class), yam, water yam, cocoyam (potatoes, yam and other tubers class), groundnut oil, palm oil, etc (oil and fats class) and catfish dried, dried, etc.

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“On a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate in June 2024 was 2.55 per cent which shows a 0.26 percent increase compared to the rate recorded in May 2024 (2.28 per cent)”

The NBS stated that the average annual rate of food inflation for the 12 months ending June 2024 was 35.35 per cent, an 11.31 per cent point increase from the average annual rate of change recorded in June 2023.

The core inflation rate, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce and energy, stood at 27.40 percent in June 2024, up by 7.34 per cent, when compared to the 20.06 per cent recorded in June 2023.

According to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Inflation Report for June 2024, the NBS attributed the rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis to increases in prices of the following items, millet whole grain, garri, guinea corn, etc (bread and cereals class), yam, water yam, coco yam (potatoes, yam and other tubers class), groundnut oil, palm oil, etc (oil and fats class) and catfish dried, dried fish-sardines, mudfish (fish class), etc.

Some experts have since blamed insecurity, lack of equipment, and other issues as major challenges affecting food production in Nigeria.

The Federal Government had in the wake of the galloping prices of essential commodities reeled out a raft of measures to address the challenge.

It recently suspended duties, tariffs, and taxes on the importation of maize, husked brown rice, wheat, and cowpeas through the country’s land and sea borders, for 150 days.

It also approved the procurement of 2,000 tractors, and 1,200 trailers and set up a committee to help in proffering solutions to the food crisis rocking the nation.