Tinubu’s 50 Percent Subsidy On Agriculture Input Panacea To Inflation – APC Chieftain

A Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, Mr Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, has described President Bola Tinubu’s 50 percent reduction in the cost of agricultural inputs for farmers ahead of the dry season farming in the country, could tackle food price inflation.

Oyintiloye, while speaking with newsmen in Osogbo on Sunday, said that the subsidy on farm inputs by the president would go a long way in assisting farmers to increase production and boost food availability despite present high inflation in the country.

The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, had during the flag-off of the 2023/2024 dry session farming under the National Agricultural Growth Scheme and Agro-pocket Project at Kadume Village, Hadejia Local Government Area, Jigawa State, disclosed that the federal government will support 250,000 wheat farmers with a 50 percent input subsidy to cultivate about 250,000 hectares during the dry season.

Oyintiloye, a member of defunct APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) noted that the country’s current food inflation, according to the National Bureau of Statistics(NBS) stood at 31.5 percent, adding that the average price of one kilogram of rice local sold rose by 68.10 percent on a year-on-year basis from N487.47 in Oct. 2022 to N819.42 in Oct. 2023.

He said the NBS statistics further revealed that the average price of one kilogram of brown beans rose by 39.90 per cent on a year-on-year basis from N564.69 in Oct.2022 to N790.01 in Oct. 2023, among other food prices.

“We need to commend President Tinubu for this 50 per cent subsidy on farm inputs. This will go along way to boost food and nutrition security, attract private sector investment reduce post-harvest losses, as well as add value to local agriculture produce in the country”, he said.

Oyintiloye said the programme of National Agriculture Growth, which was aimed at supporting farmers through training on good agricultural practices and provide certified inputs would enhance food production.

He said the President’s passion for food security and his quick intervention on fertilizers, improved seeds, mechanisation and grants in both long and short terms would yield a desirable result to ensure food production round the year.

Oyintiloye, however, appealed to the federal government to relate directly with subsistence and large scale farmers, among other stakeholders in agriculture business through their various associations.

He said this would enable them to access various government intervention programmes without any form of hindrance and make Nigeria self-sufficient in term of agriculture produce, thereby making prices of food items affordable.