Senator Jimoh Ibrahim has urged the federal government to tackle Nigeria’s growing hunger crisis by introducing food vouchers for low-income citizens, suggesting this approach would be more effective than the current cash transfer program in ensuring food security among vulnerable populations.
During a press briefing with the Nigerian delegation at the 2024 IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington, DC, Senator Ibrahim, Chair of the Senate Inter-Parliamentary Committee, emphasized the importance of directly addressing food scarcity for millions of Nigerian households.
“Food vouchers would immediately target food needs, supporting approximately 5 million households, or about 25 million people,” he stated, noting this would maximize the impact of recent economic reforms, including the subsidy removal and foreign exchange adjustments.
“These reforms,” he added, “should focus on supporting the most vulnerable in society.”
Finance Minister Wale Edun, also present at the briefing, detailed government efforts to boost food production to help curb inflation, especially given that food prices significantly impact Nigeria’s Consumer Price Index, contributing to half of its total weight.
Edun highlighted initiatives aimed at increasing output from both the wet and upcoming dry season harvests, explaining that small-scale farmers are receiving government support to strengthen food supply.
“In addition, our aim is to help around 600,000 farmers cultivate nearly one million hectares for wheat in November and for rice early next year,” he said.
The finance minister expressed confidence that these agricultural programs, paired with inflation-fighting strategies from the Central Bank of Nigeria, would stabilize essential goods’ prices and improve their affordability for Nigerians.
