ECOWAS
By Victoria Ojeme
The ECOWAS Parliament is meeting in Guinea Bissau to discuss the way forward, as it concerns the food crisis that has hit the region during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Food Crisis Prevention Network (RPCA) said over 17 million people in the Sahel and West Africa (7.1 million in Nigeria alone) need food and nutritional assistance during the pandemic. It adds that combined impact of violent insecurity and COVID-19 could put more than 50 million other people across the region at risk of food and nutrition crisis.
The lawmakers’ delocalised meeting with the theme ” Agricultural Production and Food Security in ECOWAS region under Covid-19 pandemic” is scheduled to begin today, Tuesday November 10 in Bissau, Guinea Bissau.
Speaker ECOWAS Parliament, Sidie Mohammed Tunis, who led a delegation of members of the Parliament for a courtesy visit to the President of Guinea Bissau, Umaro Embalo, said Guinea Bissau was chosen for the meeting because it is believed to be stable.
“As you all are aware, Covid-19 has had very negative effects on food production, which is threatening food security in the region. So, we will have experts on Covid-19 and also experts from the Commission on agriculture that will explain to all of us especially for the benefit of the People of Guinea Bissau where we are as a region regarding food security and where we are regarding the fight against Covid-19.
“We will have the Director General of the West African Health Organization (WAHO) who is championing the fight against Covid-19 and other stakeholders who will present their expertise on behalf of the people of West Africa,” Tunis said.
The effects of the collapse in global commodity prices, currency depreciations, rising costs of consumer goods and disruptions to supply chains are rippling across the region.
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And for major oil-exporting countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, Chad and Cameroon, the wipe-out of foreign currency earnings will hammer government revenues just as the cost of food and other critical imports goes up. It is likely that the number of people who suffer the direct health impact of the coronavirus will be far outstripped by the number for whom there will be harsh social and economic costs.
The Nigerian inflation rate rose to 13.71% (year-on-year) in September 2020 indicating 0.49% point higher than 13.22% recorded in August 2020. This was contained in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
A closely watched component of the inflation index, rose by 16.66% in September 2020, 0.66% increased compared to 16% recorded in the previous month, while on a month-on-month basis, the food sub-index rose by 1.88% compared to 1.67% recorded in August 2020.
Meanwhile, the rise in the food index was caused by increase in prices of Bread and Cereals, Potatoes, Yam and other tubers, Meat, Fish, Fruits and Oils and fats.
Floods in September across northwest Nigeria destroyed 90 percent of the two million tons of rice that Kebbi state officials expected to harvest this autumn. The loss amounts to some 20 percent of the rice Nigeria grew last year.
Twin crises, floods and maize shortages, come just after movement restrictions and financing difficulties caused by COVID-19 containment measures complicated rainy season planting.
