*Makinde Moves To Enhance Food Security In Oyo
BY GODWIN IJEDIOGOR
THE National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), its Selected Food Prices Watch report for January this year, has announced that prices of beef, rice, beans, onion, tomato and other food items increased in January this year.
The report said the average price of 1kg of boneless beef increased by 37.08 per cent from N2,418.91 in January last year to N3,315.78 in January this year
According to the report, one a month-on-month basis, 1kg of boneless beef increased by 5. 37 per cent in January from the N3,146.94 in December 2023, adding that the average price of 1kg of local rice increased by 98.47 per cent on a year-on-year basis from N514.83 in January 2023 to N1,021.79 in January this year.
On a month-on-month basis, 1kg of local rice increased by 11.31 per cent from the N917.93 recorded in December last year, while the average price of 1kg of brown beans increased by 64.42 per cent on a year-on-year basis from N593.96 in January last year to N976.58 in January this year.
On a month-on-month basis, the price increased by 12.16 per cent from the N870.67 in December last year to N976.58 in January this year.
The NBS said the average price of 1kg of onion bulb rose by 97.38 per cent on a year-on-year basis from N446.44 in January last year to N881.20 in January this year, adding, however, that on a month-on-month basis, the price decreased by 9.33 per cent from N971.86 recorded in December last year.
The report said the average price of 1kg of tomato increased by 80.98 per cent on a year-on-year basis from N467.04 in January last year to N845.26 in January this year, while on a month-on-month basis, 1kg of tomato increased by 3.82 per cent from N814.16 in December last year to N845.26 in January this year.
On state profile analysis, the report showed that in January this year, the highest average price of 1kg of boneless beef was recorded in Abuja at N4,000, while the lowest price was recorded in Gombe at N2,639, noting that Abuja recorded the highest average price of 1kg of local rice at N1,350, and Benue the lowest at N800.64
The NBS stated that the highest average price of 1kg of brown beans was recorded in Akwa Ibom at N1,466.67, while the lowest price was recorded in Adamawa at N677.23, just as the highest average price of 1kg of onion bulb was recorded in Rivers at N1,454.09 , and the lowest in Zamfara at N435.71.
According to the report, Delta recorded the highest average price of 1kg of tomato at N1,474.79, while Kano recorded the lowest price at N422.7.
Zonal analysis showed that the average price of 1kg of boneless beef was highest in the Southeast at N3,761.32, followed by the Southwest at N3,608.76, while the lowest price was recorded in the Northeast at N2,854,86.
The North Central and Southwest recorded the highest average price of 1kg of local rice at N1,083.36 and N1067.39, respectively, while the lowest price was in the Northeast at N941.57.
The report said the South-South recorded the highest average price of 1kg of brown beans at NN1,296.66, followed by the Southeast at N1,088.18 , while the Northwest recorded the lowest price at N729.95.
It indicated that the South-South and Southwest recorded the highest average price of 1kg of onion bulb at N1,331.74 and N1,024.89, respectively, while the lowest was recorded in the Northwest at N525.60, adding that the South-South recorded the highest average price of 1kg of Tomato at N1,321.47, followed by the Southwest at NN1,029.25, while the Northwest recorded the lowest price of 1kg of tomato at N490.94.
Meanwhile, Oyo State Governor, Mr. Seyi Makinde, has announced initiatives to enhance food security, including a six-month revenue exemption on farm produce, liberalised access to low-interest loans, N600million subsidy for tractor hire and deployment of extension workers for smallholder farmers’ support.
The governor, in a tweet on his X handle, wrote on Wednesday, February 28: “Earlier today, we met with stakeholders on food security to discuss the issues faced by smallholder farmers and traders as it affects food inflation.
“Some of the decisions we reached were that for the next six months, no revenue will be collected on farm produce. Revenue collectors will instead be deployed to our borders to collect revenue from those who are taking produce out of Oyo State.
“We will provide a hotline for people to call if they have any issues. We also agreed to liberalise the conditions for accessing low interest loans from the Agricultural Credit Corporation of Oyo State (ACCOS) to improve access to farmers.
“We have been disbursing N1billion to smallholder farmers under our SAfER programme. We will provide an initial N600million through the ACCOS to subsidise the cost of hiring tractors.”
He stated that the modalities of how the smallholder farmers can access this subsidy would be worked out and communicated to the the farmers, adding: “In total, we plan to subsidise the clearing of at least 120,000 hectares this planting season.
“We will subsidise haulage costs through the Pacesetter Transport Company, so that farmers can get their produce to the markets at a cheaper rate.
“We will also deploy extension workers through the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to support our smallholder farmers on proper agronomic practices to maximise yield.
“Finally, a 10-member committee will be set up to monitor and implement these and other decisions that will be made to tackle food inflation. Six members of the committee will be from the stakeholders and four from the government.”
