THE federal government said plans are underway to assist Nigerian farmers through solar-powered irrigation systems to boost all-season food production.

The minister of state for agriculture, Aliyu Abdullahi, made this  known on Thursday, October 24, at the ‘Sahel Food Systems Changemakers conference 2024’ held in Abuja.

The conference has the theme: ‘Innovative Governance Model: A pathway to good and nutrition security in Nigeria.’

The minister said the federal government has targeted 750,000 hectares for the dry season to boost food production, stressing that Nigeria cannot rely on one season of farming alone.

“We need to be intentional about irrigation to sustain all-season farming in the country and to avert rising food prices. We are not where we want to be but we’re making efforts to curb good inflation at above 40 per cent,” he said.

“We can no longer rely on rainwater alone for agricultural production. We must ensure the market receives best quality of food,” he added.

Last year, Thursday, July 13, to be precise, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency on food security to step up efforts to tackle shortage in food production.

However, the country has continued to face an inadequate food supply, leading to higher costs of food items in the markets and worsening of the country’s food inflation basket.

Worried by the ravaging hunger faced by Nigerians across the nation, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), in February, embarked on a two-day nationwide protest.

“There’s absolute hunger. You say we should not say we are hungry, so we should keep quiet and die. We say no; that’s why we’re coming out,” the president, Joe Ajaero, said.

The NLC’s protest was followed by a 10-day youth-led nationwide protest between August 1 and 10, and the one-day protest on October 1, when aggrieved young people called out President Tinubu and his-led government to address the suffering of the masses including hunger, high cost of commodities, and transportation.

Noting the earlier declaration of a state of emergency on food production, Abdullahi said the ministry is currently working on what needs to be addressed.

“We’re working on a number of projects and we are expecting results very soon from our plans, programmes and policies,” he stressed.

In a similar submission, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Country Director Melissa Jones, at the event said a new innovative approach to finance and food security is key in solving hunger problems.

She said that the meeting is timely, adding that 800,000 metric tonnes of goods are lost annually because of the broken value chain.

She stressed the importance of good food distribution systems which encompasses production, distribution, market access with a proper structured eco-system.

“We can ensure all the ecosystems work well with the power of partnerships,” she added.

She stressed that reliance on rainwater for food security is risky while falling for the need to think out of the box for all stakeholders.