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Showing posts with label food Importation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food Importation. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

UN calls for urgent actions against food price hike



The United Nations (UN) agencies have called for swift and coordinated international actions in a bid to maintain stable prices for food stocks.
In a press statement jointly prepared by three UN agencies, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FOA), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) made available to NaijaAgroNet, revealed the need to maintain food price so that it does not turn to a catastrophe.
This, the agencies said, could hurt tens of millions over the coming months, and that the problems of some high food prices must be solved as well as the long-term issue of how we produce and consume.
Also, the agencies, disclosed that the food price hike does not affect every country in same way that the urban, rural poor and those in food import-dependent countries are most vulnerable to the international increase in prices as the listed categories spent a larger part of their incomes on food.
Findings by the bodies affirmed that although some smallholder farmers fall into the category of poor and food insecure that they can powered to take the food price hike advantages by becoming part of the solution and improve the overall food security.
NaijaAgroNet learnt that part of initiatives employed by the UN agencies comprise the UN High-Level Task Force on Global Food Security and Agricultural Markets Information System (AMIS), to improve transparency in the global food market.
Also part of the initiative, the Rapid Response Forum was set up to facilitate coordinated policy responses by the major world producers and traders of key cereals and soybeans.
WFP made an estimation of extra $200 million, about N31.6 billion per year for food assistance for every 10 per cent increase in food price; everyone is vulnerable as global grain production in a good year is not enough to meet the growing demand for food.
 

 Yinka Awosanya/LS

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Friday, June 1, 2012

N1.59trn on wheat imports, unacceptable – Jonathan


Nigeria women processing cassava
Nigeria President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan has expressed federal government’s unacceptability over the importation of wheat, rice, sugar and fish only which amounts to over $10 billion, about N1.59 trillion.
He also said the federal government is facilitating the importation and installation of 100 new large scale integrated rice mills in Nigeria to enable the nation with a capacity to mill all locally consumed rice.
NaijaAgroNet gathered that the federal government would not only sustain farming in the nation as the largest producer of cassava in the world but also to ensure that Nigeria is the largest processor of high value cassava products globally.
To achieve this, President Jonathan said tariff and levy on the importation of wheat has been increased and proceeds from the levy will be used to support corporate bakers and master bakers across the country to use high quality cassava flour for baking.
The funds generated from the wheat levy, NaijaAgroNet learnt would be set aside to also support the promotion of high quality cassava flour and composite cassava bread in form of technical training, equipment for corporate baker as well as enzymes needed for production.
“Nigeria will export this year 1 million metric tonnes of dried cassava chips to China,” this he said would earn the nation $136 million, about N21.7 billion in foreign exchange.
The federal government is also reviving cocoa’s lost glory with massive distribution of about 3.6 million free pods of high-yielding cocoa varieties for farmers. Free cotton seeds will also be distributed to cotton farmers in the north.
Yinka Awosanya/LS
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