The Federal government is to invest N45.3 billion reimbursement fund to states and the FCT towards solving the challenges of the food insecurity in the country.
Minister of State Finance, Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Ikanade Agba, stated this in Abuja at a meeting on Tuesday with donors and development partners on the Implementation of Food Systems Transformation Pathways in Nigeria.
The Minister who said that the incidence of food insecurity had been on a steady increase over the past four decades, stressed that the Food and Agriculture Organisation, FAO had projected that about 25.3 million people in Nigeria would face acute food insecurity during the June to August 2023 lean season.
Prince Agba also said a quarterly report released by the global organisation showed that the figure projected was higher than the 19.45 million forecast in 2022.
He said the increase in figure was attributed to the huge food deficit due to the neglect of agricultural production as well as other areas of food ecosystem for many decades.
The various donors and development partners promised to support Nigeria to achieve the already established implementation process.
Reporting by Harriet Adams; Editing by Chinasa Ossai and Annabel Nwachukwu