Following the blame game between the political class in All Progressives Congress, APC and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, fold over the worrisome state of the nation’s economy and the increase in the prices of food in the country, the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, AFAN, has lashed both parties to stop the blame game and address the situation.

For weeks now, the prices of foodstuffs keep skyrocketing, as Nigerians keep lamenting about the situation, coupled with the economic downturn, prompting AFAN to cautioned politicians to stop politicizing the palpable state, rather, find a lasting solutions to the crisis.

Ibrahim Kabir, AFAN President, said the present situation of the country shouldn’t be treated with kid gloves, as there is hunger in the land.

He said the political elites should join forces irrespective of political affiliations to ensure farmers are given adequate security, inputs, finances and other incentives to produce more foods, while the security agencies block leakages at the borders, and also curtail activities of middlemen and hoarders whose activities are affecting availability, accessibility and affordability of food by Nigerians.

Kabir said it is imperative for the government to redouble its effort to ensure all-year-round food production by incentivizing the Small holder farmers who are the engine-room of food production in the country.

He said: “The Global Food System has had challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic but Nigeria’s food system has other additional challenges ranging from insecurity,flooding and the dwindling fortunes of the Naira which had been long in coming.

“The Boko Haram insurgency began in the PDP years and kidnappings and banditry came into it during the APC years so you see both political eras have had the misfortune of having to contend with insecurity as a threat factor to the attainment of food sufficiency not to talk of food security.

“As the President of All farmers Association of Nigeria, AFAN, I urge the government to redouble its effort in tackling insecurity and ensure all-year-round production of food by incentivizing the Small Holder Farmers, SHFs, who are the engine-room of food production due to insufficient mechanization and full commercialization of Agriculture”.

He added that the hike in food prices is being exacerbated by panic buying, hoarding and a very weak Naira so sufficient effort should be made to curb these threat factors to affordability which clearly makes the attainment of food security in Nigeria next to impossible.”

However, Kabir noted and commended efforts of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration recently to ensure farming seasons are seriously supported by subsidizing farm inputs for the farmers, but also need close monitoring for transparency and accountability sake.

“ The effort by the government on dry season farming which is quite laudable should be closely monitored and continuously evaluated for best results before the commencement of the wet season.

“ The farmers should work assiduously to scale their productivity and be sustainable in order to take full advantage of the current demand for food”, he added.