Price Hike: Kwara Assembly Asks Govt To Curtail Middlemen’s Excesses

The Kwara State House of Assembly has urged the state government to put in place measures to curtail the excesses of individuals or associations operating as middlemen so as to reduce prices of food items in the state.

The legislature, however, advised the state governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to consult the traditional rulers and community leaders in churning out such control mechanisms.

It emphasised the need for the government to intensify efforts towards ridding  every part of the state of all forms of security threats.

This, the legislature said, is necessary to enhance food security in the state.

The lawmakers’s appeal followed the motion on notice on “the need to mobilize for increased agricultural productivity and subsistence farming on rural agrarian communities and address other challenges facing the agricultural sector for enhanced food security in Kwara State’, raised by the member representing Ojomu/Balogun Constituency, Ogunniyi Sheun on the floor of the House during yesterday’s plenary.

Ogunniyi urged the people of the state to utilize every available space, such as backyard and unused lands, within their environment to cultivate farmlands.

While appreciating the state governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for his commitment to agricultural development, Sheun advised Kwarans to continue to support the government in order to ensure more productivity.

Other lawmakers who contributed to the debate urged both federal and state governments to look inward in addressing food scarcity in the country.

Reading the resolutions, the Speaker of the House, Engr Yakubu Danlad-Salihu implored Governor AbdulRazaq to direct the ministry of Agriculture to look into the possibility of introducing subsidy on pesticides, herbicides and other farm inputs to reduce their prices and promote cultivation across the country.

The speaker also urged the governor to consult traditional rulers and other community leaders putting necessary machinery in place to curtail the excesses of individuals or associations operating as middlemen so as to reduce prices of food items in the state.