The maiden edition of the annual Candida Afodu Public Lecture held on Wednesday, 1 December, 2021. The lecture titled, “Agricultural Production n Nigeria: No Reason for Insufficiency.” was delivered by a Professor of Agriculture Engineering, Professor Emilolorun Aiyelari.

In his delivery, Prof. Aiyelari said most of the 33 food silos built across the country are almost empty or now being used fir other purposes. He further revealed that the silos which had a total capacity of 1.3 million metric tonnes of grains were established to help maintain price stability and ensure food security.

He said the nation’s Strategic Grain Reserve Storage Programme, was underperforming, saying the silos had little to store for rainy day. “The programme was designed to provide relief in time of national disasters, drought, and war both locally and internationally. It is to provide a ready and accessible market for locally produced items through Buyers of Last Resort, to maintain price stability and ensure food security.

While  proffering solution to the challenges, Prof. Aiyelari called for strong military operations in the North that would banditry and insurgency, adding that there was the need for better funding for the sector, consistent and well-focused policies to make the sector attractive to young ones among others. 

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