Minister of agriculture Audu Ogbeh has raised an
alarm over the outbreak of a disease that is attacking maize crop in Nigeria.
Ogbeh who joined some state governors to brief
journalists after Thursday’s national economic council meeting at the Aso rock
villa in Abuja, said the disease known as army worm if not tackled could have
serious implications on food production in the country.
The agriculture minister however said a chemical
has been discovered to fight the disease.
The minister of agriculture said though Nigeria is
looking forward to self-sufficiency in rice production by the end of 2017,the
activities of smugglers pose a huge threat to that target as foreign rice
is still being smuggled into the country at the expense of local farmers.
Ogbeh also noted that the reason foreign rice is
cheaper is because governments of some countries that produce rice subsidize
the staple food for their farmers
The agriculture minister who decried the shortage
of tractors in most states of the federation said efforts are being made to
provide sophisticated agricultural equipment to facilitate farming and increase
food production in the country.
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