Lagos govt moves to address rising food cost

The Lagos State government has announced that it is actively working on initiatives to address the current high food prices and establish a robust reserve management system.

Following the rebranding of the Ministry of Agriculture to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Systems, the Lagos State government has announced efforts to address high food prices and develop a robust reserve management system, as stated in a Thursday release from the Public Affairs Unit.

Nigerians are grappling with escalating food and service costs, which have resulted from the removal of fuel subsidies and the liberalization of the naira exchange rate.

While speaking at the official announcement of the new name of the ministry, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, Ms. Abisola Olusanya, said the essence was to review the activities of the ministry and to gear up towards managing the current food crisis and ensure food sufficiency in Lagos.

Olusanya said food production was an entire system that accommodated numerous activities and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration was leveraging quality partnership to drive this process.

“In Lagos, we are constructing a feedlot; we know Lagos as the hub, not just for marketing of food, but also the fact that when it comes to cattle, sheep and goats, Lagos remains the epicentre where this particular livestock is sold, processed and consumed.

“We procured tractors and other implements as far back as 2021 during our Enterprise Activation Programme; we have been utilising them and we will be adding more to the fleet and because of the partnership with the sister states, there will be a lot more investment around mechanisation to increase crop production and for that reason, it was essential to create the departments.

“The Produce Safety and Quality Control department will help ensure the safety of the large quantity of food being consumed in Lagos,” the commissioner said.

During his remarks about the Middle-Level Agro Produce platform’s influence in the Mushin area, Olusanya revealed that the food hub has facilitated transactions valued at over N918 million in just 40 market days, with 339 vendors benefiting from selling their products at no cost, thereby boosting their businesses and enhancing food availability in the region.