The Federal Government has asked Nigerians not to be afraid of any form of food crisis.
The government said this on Monday, as it kicked against the projections of the International Monetary Fund.
It stated that several measures had been put in place to forestall the scarcity of food in Nigeria, stressing that there was no need for panic among citizens across the country.
On Monday, Checkout Magazine quoted the International Monetary Fund as saying Nigerians should brace up for higher food prices/risks in 2023 due to recent floods and high fertilizer prices.
However, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development opposed the position of the global financial institution, as it provided a document detailing what the FMARD had done and was doing to avert such a crisis.
“People shouldn’t be afraid of any food crisis. The minister has explained this and so people should not express fear about their (IMF) projections,” the Director, of Information, FMARD, Joel Oruche, told our correspondent.
In the document on the Long/Short Term Measures to Ameliorate the Disruptions of Food Production and Supply in Nigeria, the ministry said it was implementing various interventions to mitigate the anticipated disruptions occasioned by the recent floods.
The FMARD said it had distributed “assorted food commodities from the Federal Government strategic food reserve to the vulnerable and flood victims through the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development.”
