No Hunger In Nigeria, I Laugh When People Say They Can’t Feed Themselves – Agric Minister

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono has described the cry by some Nigerians of hunger in the land as laughable, insisting that there is no hunger in Nigeria.

Nanono stated this at a press briefing on Monday, October 14, in Abuja as part of activities to mark the 2019 World Food Day being celebrated internationally on October 16.

According to him, Nigeria is producing enough food to feed itself and send to neighbouring countries, adding that it is wrong to promote the idea that there was hunger in Nigeria.

“I think we are producing enough food to feed ourselves. There is no hunger in the country and when people talk about hunger in this government, I just laugh because they do not know hunger. They need to go to other countries to know what hunger is all about.

Nanono said that food is very cheap in Nigeria compared to other countries.

“Food in Nigeria is fairly cheap compared to other countries. In Kano for instance, you can eat N30 worth of food and be satisfied. So, we should be thankful that we can feed ourselves and we have relatively cheap food in this country,” he said.

“If you say I miss my breakfast and I get lunch and dinner, then that is all right… part of the problem of overweight is not necessarily the issue of a balanced diet, but some of us stay put without knowing that Nigeria used to be a former zone for migration in the sub-Sahara Africa.

“The problem of obesity is not necessarily the issue of a balanced diet but because some of us just decide to stay without doing exercise often.”

Meanwhile, Nigeria has been named as one of the countries that experienced high-level food crises in the world in 2018.

According to the 2019 Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC), the number of Nigerians unable to meet their daily food needs without humanitarian assistance has been rising for several years.