Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, in a strategic effort to minimise the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the year’s farming season has directed the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono, and other agriculture sector leaders to join the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19.

The president directed the minister to develop a comprehensive policy for the continued optimal functioning of the agriculture sector amidst the Covid-19 crisis. He said, ‘I am directing the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, the National Security Adviser, the Vice-Chairman [of the] National Food Security Council and the Chairman [of the] Presidential Fertiliser Initiative, to work with the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 to ensure the impact of this pandemic on our 2020 farming season is minimised’.

The president further said, ‘To ensure our economy adapts to this new reality, I am directing the Ministers of Industry, Trade and Investment, Communication and Digital Economy, Science and Technology, Transportation, Aviation, Interior, Health, Works and Housing, Labour and Employment, and Education to jointly develop a comprehensive policy for a Nigerian economy functioning with Covid-19’.

Prior to the president’s announcement, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development had announced the handing over of 12,500 metric tonnes of grain to the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs from the National Strategic Food Reserve Silo in Minna, Niger State. He had also said another 2,500 metric tonnes of garri had been evacuated by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), to be distributed to vulnerable groups across Lagos and Ogun States and the Federal Capital Territory.

Source: Premium Times

Photo source: U.S. Institute of Peace