The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) has called on the federal government to urgently address management of the nation’s food system, as the coronavirus impact continues to threaten normalcy in the country.
In a statement made available to NATIONAL ECONOMY on Sunday, the president of AFAN, Arc Kabir Ibrahim made the call, amid reassurances that Nigerian farmers were up to the task of feeding the country’s 200 million populace.
“All Nigerian farmers are poised and fully awake to address the challenge of providing enough food to feed the nearly 200,000,000 mouths in the Nation.
“We are also not unmindful of the likelihood of playing the “big brother” to all of Africa if the scourge exacerbates.
“Our food system must be properly reappraised to avoid any inadequacy that could cause disaster,” he said.
Ibrahim said it was frightening to note the enormity of the effect of COVID-19 in Italy at this time, adding that the spread of the pandemic across the globe was equally frightening.
“To this effect, I enjoin all of us to take proactive actions to avoid infections from coronavirus. The preventative measures continuously advertised by the Centre for Disease Control must be adhered to,” he said.
He advised that every other matter in the country should take a backseat pending the control of the coronavirus pandemic.
Ibrahim commended the handling of the pandemic by those entrusted with the responsibility to ensure the wellbeing of the populace, in the areas of health and nutrition, urging them to continue with the good work they were doing, with encouragement from the President and all Nigerians.
“The President should as a matter of urgency address the Nation on all the efforts in place and the state of preparedness in case of escalation of the pandemic,” he advised, praying that God Almighty brings the pandemic to an end soon.
