The Federal Government on Thursday commenced the distribution of 40,000 metric tonnes of grains to cushion the effect of the high prices of agro commodities across the country.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammad Abubakar, who kicked off the distribution programme at the Karamajiji Internally Displaced Persons Camp in Abuja, said the camp was picked as the first distribution venue because IDPs were mostly affected by the situation.
He said the commodities being distributed also include dietary items that would reduce the prices of poultry foods in the market.
Abubakar said, “Let me say the high prices of commodities in the market have affected the cost of production of various kind of foods, including poultry, and others.
“This distribution will include some poultry because they are also part of the dietary assortment that we need to make sure is available. For this, we are distributing to the public.
“This will be done not just by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture Rural Development but other ministries, including the humanitarian affairs ministry, which will be distributing about 12,000 metric tonnes.”
The minister said the FMARD would also work with the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, as well as other relevant ministries to ensure the seamless distribution of the grains.
Abubakar said the Federal Government had more than enough grains in stock to meet the country’s demand whenever the need arises.
He said, “We have more than 90,000 metric tonnes in stock, and we have released and restocked and when the need arises, we release again.
“As we speak, Mr. President has approved additional funding for the restocking of our silos, we are currently restocking even as we are releasing.”
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