The African Development Bank, AfDB, ($244m) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development ($5m) have given the Federal Government a total of $249 million (N109.3 billion at Tuesday’s official exchange rate of N439.02/$) for flood prevention and food production.
It has also started building mini-earth dams and is now replenishing the country’s strategic food stockpiles with 200,000 metric tonnes of various commodities.
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mahmood Abubakar, announced this during a news conference in Abuja to explain how the government was addressing the food production disruptions caused by the recent floods in Nigeria.
He stated that the terrible effect, devastation, and loss of life and property caused by flooding had become an annual occurrence in many regions of Nigeria.
Abubakar stated that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in partnership with appropriate ministries and agencies, conducted the 2022 wet season Agricultural Performance Survey across the nation to guide its operations.
He added that this was done to give empirical data to help mitigate the negative impacts of floods and assure higher food production in Nigeria.
According to the minister, the government has received assistance from international partners, donor organizations, and collaborators for emergency food production and flood catastrophe mitigation in Nigeria.
