Nigeria’s government has raised more than $500 million to transform food production in Africa’s most-populous nation.
The funds come from sources including multilateral development banks and international financial institutions, Vice President Kashim Shettima said in a statement on Tuesday. The money will be used for “innovation finance for food system transformation, development of Nigeria’s agro value chain and special agro-industrial processing zones programmes,” he said.
President Bola Tinubu’s administration declared a state of emergency last week to allow the state to take exceptional steps to boost food security and supply, as the country of more than 200 million people grapples with inflation accelerating at the fastest pace in two decades. Measures being considered include clearing forests for farmland to boost agricultural output and ease food costs.
Read more: Surging Food Prices Spur Nigeria to Declare an Emergency
The government is also taking steps to improve security in the country, where a decade-long insurgency by Islamist militants and attacks by bandits have curbed farm output.
“The president has already approved the infusion of a huge quantum of funds towards repositioning of our security architecture,” Shettima said. “We are repositioning our security architecture to provide support for farms and farmers.”
Tuesday, July 25, 2023
Nigeria Raises $500 Million to Boost Agriculture Industry
Monday, July 24, 2023
Video - Nigeria hosts largest gathering of sports personalities
Nigeria hosted the largest gathering of the country's best sports personalities, including local and foreign-based Olympians at a summit to recognize heroes who have put the nation on the global map. At the core of the discussion was returning the country to its glory days.
8 Killed in fuel explosion in Nigeria
At least eight people were killed when a fuel truck exploded in southwestern Nigeria as residents were trying to siphon petrol out of it, police said on Monday.
The truck was involved in an accident on Sunday night in a neighbourhood of Ondo state which caused it to veer off the road and topple on its side, the police said.
"Some people went there to scoop fuel, in the process the tanker exploded," said Ondo state police spokesman Fumilayo Odunlami-Omisanya.
The price of petrol has more than tripled since the removal of a decades-old subsidy at the end of May, hitting motorists and households and small businesses who use petrol generators for power.
By Tife Owolabi, Reuters
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Friday, July 21, 2023
Naira hits record low on black market ahead of central bank meeting
Nigeria's naira traded at a record low of 860 per dollar on the black market on Thursday, according to traders, weakening below its official rate a month after the country devalued the currency and ahead of a central bank policy meeting next week.
The bank last month allowed the naira to weaken by more than a third in a bid to unify Nigeria's multiple exchange rates and to lure foreign investment to shore up liquidity in an economy struggling with dollar shortages.
Last month's devaluation helped narrow the gap between the naira's exchange rates on the official window and the black market but pressure is gradually building up especially from individuals paying for expenses abroad.
The naira has been swinging widely on the official market since the devaluation. It touched a new low of 853 naira per dollar on Wednesday, according to OTC market regulator, FMDQ Exchange.
The currency closed at 742 naira against the dollar on the official market on Thursday, Refinitiv data showed.
Dollar shortages on the official market have seen customers turning to the black market, helping to widen the gap between the spot rate and the black market, one trader said.
Nigeria has embarked on its boldest reform agenda in decades, including the removal of a popular but costly petrol subsidy and the loosening of restrictions on foreign exchange trading, a gamble President Bola Tinubu hopes will boost sluggish economic growth.
Analysts have warned that a weaker currency and the fuel subsidy removal would likely to push inflation higher in the short term.
The central bank will meet on Monday and Tuesday to set interest rates with investors looking for measures to support the currency.
By Elisha Bala-Gbogbo and Chijioke Ohuocha, Reuters