According to the Federal Government, the disruptions caused by insurgent, terrorist, and bandit activity have not had a substantial impact on agricultural production.
Mohammed Abubakar, the minister of agriculture and rural development, made this statement yesterday in Abuja while participating in the weekly Ministerial Briefing hosted by the Presidential Communication Team at the Presidential Villa.
The minister added that the $2.4 billion in externally funded projects being carried out by the current administration had generated nearly 3.6 million indirect jobs.
Abubakar was responding to a query regarding the alleged difficulties of farmers in the North to access farms while being accompanied by other senior ministry officials.
Although the level of insecurity in the country concerns the Federal Government, the minister claimed that food production had not been materially affected.
Abubakar said that $538 million had been allocated for special agricultural processing zones to enhance inclusive and sustainable agricultural growth in Nigeria when discussing the benefits of projects receiving international funding.
A $575 million initiative, according to the minister, is also being carried out to enhance rural access and agricultural markets in the participating states and to fortify the institutional foundation for financing rural road development, upkeep, and management.
Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Kano, Katsina, Kogi, Kwara, Kebbi, Ogun, Ondo, Oyo, Plateau, and Sokoto were listed as the participating states.
According to the minister, the government is also carrying out the Value Chain Development Programme Additional Financing (VCDP-AF) 2020–2024 to raise the earnings and food security of underprivileged rural households that work in the cultivation, processing, and selling of rice and cassava.
In order to “build up the achievement obtained in the original VCDP states,” he continued, the initiative was being carried out in nine states, including Niger, Benue, Ogun, Ebonyi, Taraba and Anambra, Nasarawa, Kogi, and Enugu.
