South-West Farmers Association of Nigeria (SWFAN) has commended the federal government for declaring a state of emergency on food security, saying it will enhance better yields and crash food prices.

SWFAN charman, Gabriel Ogunsanya, stated this in an interview on Friday in Ibadan.

Mr Ogunsanya, also the president of the National Fish Association of Nigeria (NFAN), said the development would also result in improvement in all the areas of the agricultural sector, which had suffered neglect by successive administrations.

He said President Bola Tinubu needed the support of all Nigerians for him to be able to carry out his administration’s plans in agriculture and other sectors of the economy.

“When there is enough land for farming, dams for irrigation and good seedlings, there will be better yields, farmers will make more money and prices of food and other commodities will reduce astronomically.

“The declaration of a state of emergency on food security by the federal government is, therefore, a good development, as it will lead to better yields,” he said.

He stressed that Nigeria presently relies on imported foods, such as rice and others, saying that this had taken its toll on foreign exchange, thus negatively impacting the country’s economy.

Mr Ogunsanya expressed optimism that the government’s latest action would lead to more focus on agriculture.

Also, Oluwagbemileke Israel, president of the Agro- farmers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria, said the country’s agricultural sector had been left to deteriorate for a long time.

Mr Israel said most farmers had left farming because of insecurity, lack of funds and a dearth of modern equipment for farming activities.

He said declaring a state of emergency on food security would help tackle the challenges and enhance mass food production in Nigeria.

“Government should provide lands, funds and storage facilities, among others, for us to have food sufficiency, while all areas of the agricultural sector should be covered by the state of emergency declaration on food security,” he said.

(NAN)