By Samuel
Measures aimed at curbing the spread of the novel Corona Virus (COVID-19) pandemic are having a severe impact on agricultural production and could spark a national food crisis in the near future.
This was according to the National President of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Mr. Ezekiel Ibrahim, who cited the restriction of movements as a major impediment to farming activities this year.
Following the outbreak of COVID-19 in Nigeria, the Federal Government and some sub-nationals had issued a lockdown directive, majorly restricting movements and social gatherings.
Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) last weekend, Ibrahim said that farmers and pastoralists have been hindered from engaging in agricultural activities, owing to the lockdown and the fear of contracting the virus.
“This year 2020, we are at least better off because we have enough food on ground but in 2021 we are going to face clear starvation, not just hunger because of lockdown and restriction of movement of people since farmers cannot move to their farms.
“Already, the rainy season has set in so, if the maize producers, soybeans farmers could not go to their farms and that is a threat to the poultry industry.
“This is because 70 percent of the raw materials for the poultry industry, especially poultry production is soya and maize. We have two issues, which are the lockdown, security, and activities of bandits,” Ibrahim explained.
Although, just recently, the Ministry of Agriculture had instated a Joint Task Technical Team to ease the movement of agric produce and stimulate food supply, Ibrahim, however, charged the government to wake up to its responsibilities.
He said, “We need to wake up, the government needs to wake up to its duties because we are generally experiencing terrible and tough times,”
The president further advised the government to mobilise farmers across the country to produce more in order to stem the tide of the looming food crisis in 2021, amid easing of the lockdown.