FCTA releases buffer stock to cut food prices

THE Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) yesterday ordered the release and sale of buffer stock grains from its strategic food reserve as part of measures to reduce the high cost of staple food items in the territory.The Minister of State for FCT, Olajumoke Akinjide, who confirmed this at the kickoff of the sale of buffer stock grains to residents in the territory, said the grains would be sold at 50 per cent of their prices.She stated that the administration had approved the sale of 11,548 bags of maize, 2,196 bags of guinea corn and 5,070 bags of millet to the public, local councils, government agencies and various farmer associations at subsidised amounts.'The FCT Administration is concerned that prices of staple foods are usually high at this period of the year and has, over the years, released stored grains from our buffer stock programme. You are also quite aware of the crisis in the Euro zone and the continued downward spiral in the world economy, which has led to increased prices of most food items and Nigeria, being a part of the global community, is not isolated from this trend,' she noted.The minister disclosed that the FCTA was working towards raising the buffer stock storage capacity from its level of 1,250 metric tonnes with the completion of the specialised warehouse at Tungan Maje, which has a storage capacity of 1,000 metric tonnes.'The FCT buffer stock programme has continued to live up to the ideals for which the programme was put in place. These ideals include buyer of last resort through mopping up of excess grains and price stabilisation. Farmers' co-operative groups in FCT have benefited immensely from this programme. It is our hope that with this increased capacity, the administration will continue to carry out her obligations towards reducing wastage and ultimately ensure food security in the territory,' she asserted.Earlier in her welcome address, the Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat, FCTA, Olvadi Bema Madayi, said the administration remained responsive to the alleviation of the hardship faced by the citizenry who have requested that it intervened in the stabilisation of the soaring prices of grains.She noted that the buffer stock grains programme was designed to intervene in the chain of agricultural production.'The programme is the second tier of the tripartite food storage programme and is replicating the activities of the National Strategic Food Reserve in the FCT. The grains to be sold are subsidised to cushion the prevailing high prices,' she added.
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