President Muhammadu Buhari says Nigeria no longer has money to import food owing to the impact of COVID-19 on the nation’s economy.
While speaking with journalists during the Eid celebrations at the state house on Sunday, the president described the impact of the virus as “frightening”.
He said the pandemic has affected both the developed and the developing countries.
“Nigerians can see that the COVID-19 has reduced us, both the developing and developed countries, to the same level,” he said.
“In fact, we have fewer casualties than they have. So, it’s a very frightening development.”
The president asked farmers to maximise the season of rainfall to increase food production.
“I hope the rainy season would be bountiful so that we can get a lot of food,” Buhari said.
“I wish the farmers will go to farms so that we can produce what we need in sufficient quantity so that we don’t have to import food.
“In any case, we don’t have any money to import food. So, we must produce what we are going to eat.”
He appealed to Nigerians to continue to observe the health precautions issued by the federal ministry of health and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
“I advise Nigerians to be very careful and take the advice of the Ministry of Health,“ he said.
“The ministers of health have been doing very well, speaking and educating the citizens on the deadly virus. So, we should be very careful.”
Food sufficiency: Buhari ‘echoes TB Joshua’s call on agriculture’
By Robert Egbe
President Muhammadu Buhari has urged farmers to double efforts towards helping the country attain food sufficiency.
Speaking on Sunday after observing the Eid-el-Fitr prayers at the State House, Abuja, he warned that Nigeria no longer had “any money to import food”.
Buhari said: “I wish the farmers will go to farms and save lives so that we can produce what we need in sufficient quantity so that we don’t have to import food.”
He called on the agricultural sector to maximise the opportunities afforded by the rainy season.
“In any case, we don’t have any money to import food. So, we must produce what we are going to eat… I hope the rainy season would be bountiful so that we get a lot of food,” the President added.
The call echoed a similar one by the founder of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), Prophet TB Joshua, a statement from the church said yesterday.
Joshua, it added, has for years, been urging the government to invest in the agricultural sector.
“Agriculture will help the economy because the economy will have a backlash. People should invest in agriculture. Let us farm to help the economy,” Joshua prophesied on January 5, 2020, after declaring 2020 would be a “year of humility”.