The minister said the ministry has signed an MoU with
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, says
He said the country has fewer than 5,000 tractors that are working.
Mr Kyari stated this on Tuesday when he appeared for the
He appeared alongside the Minister of State in the ministry,
The 10th House has been holding debates on different sectors of the country. So far, it has held debates on security and the economy.
Mr Kyari highlighted the lack of mechanisation in agricultural practice as a significant impediment to better output as farmers still depend on hoes and cutlasses.
He informed the lawmakers that the federal government is on the verge of procuring tractors from foreign companies.
"Mechanisation is a substantial setback for us in this country. Today, I am not too sure if we have 5,000 tractors fully working in
"We signed an MoU last year in November with
"As I speak, they are in
Why fertiliser is expensive
Mr Kyari also lamented the rising cost of fertiliser and its impact on the cost of food in the market.
He explained that fertiliser plants are struggling with the cost of gas to power their plants, adding that some gas suppliers are selling in
Mr Kyari, a former senator, said the gas suppliers should accept payments in naira when selling to Dangote and Indorama Fertilisers to bring down the price of fertilisers in
"We have engaged two main fertiliser producers, Dangote Fertiliser and Indorama Fertiliser. For the production of urea, gas is the number one and the only feedstock for it. To our shock, gas is priced at the international market rate and in dollars. We have engaged
"We discussed the issue with NNPC, and they have agreed to look into the price. This is a local resource, a good-given resource. Why should it be priced at an international price?
"The other issue is that there is an agreement with those UREA manufacturers to supply 35 per cent to the domestic market and 65 per cent to be exported. That 35 per cent is enough to feed our local needs, but they would never do that simply because they don't have gas. Some of them have the capacity of 8,000 metric tonnes a day but they could handle more," he said.
The minister added that the high cost of gas is making it difficult for fertiliser manufacturers to meet local obligations.
"Some of them (fertiliser manufacturers) have loan repayment and other obligations like forward agreements. We need
Following the presentation, Mr Kyari also engaged in a question and answer session, with lawmakers raising concerns on
"We've seized 120 trucks of grain from smugglers"-- Customs CG
On his part,
He said the NCS has seized 120 trucks from smugglers, adding that the Service will continue to inject the seized grains into the local markets.
"We are currently in an operation all over
"Because we're in a state of emergency, we have received the directive to implement some kind of restrictions on the export of critical food items, and this is what we have been implementing in the last one month to ensure that we have local self-sufficiency,"
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NCS subsequently suspended the distribution following the stampede that happened in
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