The Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture, Abisola Olusanya, has announced plans to implement stringent monitoring of agricultural investments to track state support and hold all stakeholders in the food value chain accountable.
Speaking at the Agriculture & Allied Group 2024 Symposium/Fair organized by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Olusanya emphasized the importance of building a robust food logistics infrastructure to enable effective tracing of food items. This will allow the government to follow its investments from the farm to the market and ensure that farmers receive fair returns for their efforts.
By tracking the entire food value chain, the Lagos State Government aims to identify areas where middlemen are exploiting farmers and consumers. This will help to ensure that farmers are adequately compensated for their labor and that food prices remain affordable for consumers.
The Commissioner highlighted the Mushin Fresh Food Hub, opened in December 2023, as a valuable tool for gathering data and ensuring proper food reserves. This initiative will contribute to addressing food security concerns in the state.
The LCCI President, Gabriel Idahosa, also emphasized the urgent need to address the rising food insecurity in Nigeria. He cited the alarming increase in the number of food-insecure Nigerians from 66.2 million to 100 million in just one year.
Idahosa commended the Federal Government’s import waivers but urged for a focus on building the capacity of local food producers to meet domestic demand. He emphasized the importance of a well-targeted fiscal policy to support food production in Nigeria.
