Agriculture stakeholders have lauded the move by President Bola Tinubu to reintroduce the commodity board to drive food prices in the country.

They said this in separate interviews in Lagos while reacting to Mr Tinubu’s inauguration speech. They said the reintroduction of the commodity board, if implemented, would boost food security.

Ayoola Olalusi, a professor at the Federal University of Technology, Akure, said the reintroduction of the commodity board would address the high cost of food, drive uniform market prices, and control market prices.

Mr Olalusi noted that the new president was in the right direction to focus on agriculture and developing it to an exportable level to boost the export of agricultural products.

Africanfarmer Mogaji, former chairman of the Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Agric and Agro-Allied Group, commended the president’s prioritising agriculture and food security.

“I can say for the first time since 1999, return to civilian rule, we are having an inaugural speech that captures a palliate and captures the major challenges the country has,” stated Mr Mogaji. “Beyond the board of commodities, the president talked about storage, trading, credit and facilitating credit.”

Olufemi Ajayi of the Department of Agricultural Extension, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, urged the president to improve security in and around farmlands across the country to attract new investors into the sector.

He, however, called for re-establishing the agric input supply unit in the Ministry of Agriculture to facilitate the availability of machinery at affordable prices to farmers.

“The president should reintroduce the commodity board so that they can buy farm produce from farmers during glut and prevent farmers from operating at a loss,” Mr Ajayi said.

Femi Oke, chairman of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Lagos chapter and South-West zone, said the reintroduction of commodity board was long overdue, adding that it plays a vital role in price control, market regulation and availability of food from farm to table.

(NAN)