Nigeria: FG Explains Role of Task Force On Food Prices
https://gistzzone.blogspot.com/2017/02/nigeria-fg-explains-role-of-task-force.html
The Federal
Government has said that the inter-ministerial task force set up to
address causes for the continuous increase in food prices was not meant
to discourage farmers in the country.
Chief Audu Ogbeh,
the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, told newsmen in Abuja
on Saturday that it was aimed at balancing and equalising food prices
across the country.
Ogbeh, who was
reacting to some media reports that the idea was anti-farmers, said it
was rather intended to ease the transportation of agricultural goods
from one place to another, given that high cost of transportation is a
major cause of price increases.
"There is no attempt by the government to regulate prices because it cannot work.
"What government is
worried about is the high cost of transporting commodities in some
parts of the country and the lack of availability in some parts while
there are surplus in some other parts."
He said the federal
government was exploring the possibility of creating centres to enhance
movement of the items from areas of production to other areas where
they are needed as a way of drastically reducing their eventual prices.