By Paul Effiong, Abuja
The House of Representatives has directed the Federal Government along with states government to provide 18000 hectres of Land in each zone for farming.
This was sequel to the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance moved during plenary yesterday by Hon. Clement Jimbo.
In his lead debate for the motion, Jombo urged for urgent intervention stating that section 4(2) of the constitution of the Federal Republic Of Nigeria as amended, saddled the National Assembly with the task of law making, peace, order as well as good governance.
The lawmaker further acknowledged several efforts of the Federal Government intervention strategies which includes prompt release of fertilizers to farmers as well as early activation of Land banks amongst others.
He equally informed that Nigeria has a total of 70.8 million hectares of agricultural land out of which 34 million hectares are arable land which maize, rice, cassava, guinea corn, yam, palm oil, beans, among others grow effectively with less soil improvements.
Making reference to the Bureau of Statistics with the support of World Bank, Food and Agricultural Organization, the lawmaker said the National Agricultural Sample Census Report 2022 captured a total of 40.2 million agricultural households in Nigeria.”
He however, stated that “Agriculture remains a corner stone of Nigeria’s economy, supporting millions of livelihoods and contributing significantly to the nation’s GPD. Despite its importance, the sector has faced numerous challenges, including outdated and insufficient data which have hindered effective planning and resource allocation”.
He continues: “The National Agricultural sample census addresses this gap, offering a detailed and accurate picture of agricultural activities at the household level which is essential for driving growth and development”.
According to him: “millets, sorghum, maize, groundnuts, beans, rice, tomato, carrot etc, grow very well in the north while cassava, yam, maize, palm oil, cucumber, maize, cotton etc, do very well in the south.
He lamented that despite huge financial resources appropriated in the budget and implemented and human resources dissipated by 40.2 million households have not addressed the current food insecurity in the nation.
While describing as worrisome, the current high cost of food products caused by insufficient food availability due to high demand but low supply he observed can lead to malnutrition, psychological distressed and other negative outcomes including depression.”
In order to address this situation, lawmakers at the Green Chamber urged Federal Government in collaboration with State Governments to demarcate a minimum of 18000 hectares of arable land in each of the six zones and name it Geo Agricultural Zones.
The House also mandated Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to apportion demarcated arable lands according to comparative advantage in crop cultivation.
The House also mandated the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food security to appoint seasoned Agriculturists from each zone and called them Geo Agricultural Zone Project Managers (GaZPM) with the sole mandate to cultivate these lands using mechanization and proceed stored in National Food Bank of the nation.
The House also mandated it Committee on Agricultural Production and Services to monitor and ensure compliance.
