As reactions continue to trail the promise of the Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar, to reopen Nigeria borders if elected president come February 2023, the Forum for Agricultural Commodity Associations Presidents (FACA) has kicked against the suggestion, saying such portends great danger to the wellbeing of the nation and its food security.
A recent statement by the chairman, Sadiq Umar Daware, in Abuja said his association major concern is the impact the reopening of land borders and resumption of importation of rice would have on the teeming rice farmers who have invested massively following the ban.
“We received with mixed feelings the news that some of the front runners in the forthcoming presidential elections have been clamouring for the reopening of the country’s land boarders and the resumption of importation of rice and other food items that have hitherto been banned by the current administration.
“Fresh on our minds, is the lethal blow the uncontrolled importation of textile materials had on our textile industries. The carcases of moribund textile industries in Kaduna and other parts of Nigeria are staring us in the face and we hope that history would not repeat itself in our lifetime.
“As an apolitical body of professionals whose sole passion is to ensure the end-to-end development of agriculture that guarantees food and nutrition security, we are poised to support any policy thrust that is farmer-friendly and is for the overall best interest of the nation.
“Therefore, we promise to continue to work assiduously with any government in power and commit to promoting all policies that would better position all value chain players in the agricultural space to become formidable sources of economic diversification,” he said.
Daware, further stated that while his association do not discountenance the merit of such a proposition, its position as stakeholders in agriculture and direct beneficiaries of the positive impact of the well-thought-out policy that led to the closure of the land boarders and the eventual ban in the importation of rice should be put into consideration.
