By STANLEY NWANOSIKE

The Agricultural Transformation Agenda Support Program Phase-One (ATASP-1) says the Federal Government plans to mop up excess food in circulation.

ATASP-1, an initiative of the Federal Government funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB), is aimed at enhancing agricultural productivity and value-chain development across the country.

Dr Romanus Egba, Zonal Programme Coordinator, ATASP-1, Adani-Omor Zone, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on Tuesday that there was no cause for alarm over possible post-harvest losses.

Egba noted that the Federal Government had strategic food reserves and was buying off from farmers and storing them there for preservation and release during scarcity.

He attributed the recent crash in prices of foodstuffs in the country to a combination of certain factors.

According to him, first, after the 2023 food crisis, so many people rushed into food production in 2024 and that led to substantial increase in the quantity of food available in the market this year, unlike the previous years.

”Secondly, the decision of the Federal Government to open our border and allow imported foodstuffs to compete with locally produced ones also contributed significantly to the crash in price of foodstuffs.

”The consequence now is that most farmers are adversely affected by this development as many of them can no longer recover the cost of production.”

On insecurity in agriculture production areas in Enugu State; Egba said that ATASP-1 believed that the state government had done much towards tackling the challenge.

”I will use Adani, where ATASP-1 last year completed the rehabilitation of the Ada Rice Irrigation System to pave the way for dry season rice farming, which could not hold then because of security challenges.

”The state government has been able to post Navy personnel to flashpoint inside the irrigation farm command area thereby allowing farmers to return to their farms.

”Local vigilante operatives are also collaborating with the military to enhance security in the areas.

”ATASP-1 was also able to complete its projects because of our excellent working relationship with these security operatives, especially the local vigilante operatives,” he added. (NAN)

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