The former Central Bank governor’s controversial naira redesign policy has culminated in a harrowing narrative of agricultural hardship, rendering farmers in Nigeria financially destitute. The Federal Government has attributed the bankruptcy of farmers to the grim repercussions of this policy, which ravaged the agricultural landscape from December 15, 2022, to February 2023. This outcry was echoed by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, during the 2024 budget defense session before the Joint Senate and Representatives Committee on Agriculture in Abuja.
Senator Kyari underscored that the 2024 budget is strategically crafted to resuscitate the ailing agricultural sector, aiming to mitigate the detrimental effects of the financial turmoil that plagued food production in the country. He pointed to a confluence of factors, including insecurity, the contentious naira redesign policy, and farmer-herder conflicts, as the primary catalysts for the widespread impoverishment of farmers, imperiling the nation’s food security.
“The cash crunch induced by the naira redesign compelled the majority of farmers to offload their harvest at meager prices in a bid for mere survival, as potential buyers grappled with the inability to access cash transactions,” lamented Senator Kyari. The ill-fated policy, coinciding unforgivingly with the harvest season, inflicted dire financial ruin upon the agricultural community, underscoring the scale of its catastrophic impact.
Concurrently, legislators including Dahiru Ismaila Haruna from Bauchi State and Ademorin Kuye from Lagos State vehemently raised concerns over the alarming escalation of hunger within the country, sounding a clarion call for urgent government intervention to avert a full-blown humanitarian crisis. Haruna poignantly painted a heart-rending picture of widespread starvation, profoundly affecting the Northern region, emphasizing the dire urgency of the situation.
Furthermore, Senator Kyari emphatically reminded the committee of the pivotal position of food security atop President Bola Tinubu’s eight-point agenda, affirming the ministry’s steadfast commitment to actualize this crucial mandate.
During the budget presentation, the minister delineated that a total of N362.940 billion was earmarked for the agricultural sector in the 2024 fiscal year, with the ministry allocated N124.1 billion. This allocation conveys N10.6 billion for personnel cost, N1.34 billion for overhead, and N112.497 billion allocated for capital expenditure.
In response, the chairman of the Senate committee, Saliu Mustapha, and committee members expressed profound dismay at the dire state of hunger and famine ravaging the nation, decrying the tragic loss of lives among vulnerable rural populations. The urgency of the situation is palpable, demanding swift and decisive action to prevent further devastation within the agricultural landscape.
The resonance of this catastrophic scenario underscores the imperativeness of a robust agricultural strategy, resilient enough to navigate the tempestuous tides of economic policies, safeguarding the livelihoods of farmers and fortifying the nation’s food security.
