The Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, on Friday, charged the Federal Government to prioritise investments in agricultural to tackle food shortage in the country.
He made the call in a statement issued by his media aide, Mr. Ibrahim Umar, in Abuja.
The former Anambra State governor was speaking against the backdrop of a Food Security Update released by the World Bank.
Obi likened Nigeria’s worsening food crisis to war-torn countries like Yemen, saying there was a significant rise in the number of people facing acute food shortages and hunger epidemic.
He said: “I believe these reports, sad as they are, only paint a lenient picture of the severity of the food crisis and hunger in reality.
“Over the years, I have maintained that moving the country from consumption to production remains the surest way of combating food insecurity and pulling the nation out of the present food crisis.
“I have equally stated, unequivocally, that the greatest asset our nation has is the vast uncultivated lands in the North coupled with our huge demographics.
“Therefore, we must be intentional with our agricultural investments.”
The LP leader expressed the regret that a state like Niger, which is twice bigger in landmass than The Netherlands, could neither feed itself nor the nation.
He said the Netherlands exports over $100 billion worth of agro products annually and stressed the need for Nigeria to prioritise investment in agriculture.
This, according to him, could be achieved by combating insecurity which had kept farmers away from the farms, and adopting modern ways of mechanised farming.
“If we can do this, we will then be able to combat hunger and achieve food security for the nation,” he added.
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