NAN-HE-18
Agriculture
By Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma
Lagos, July 18, 2017 (NAN) Financial experts on Tuesday urged the Federal Government to increase investment in the agriculture value chain to tame inflation and curtail rising cost of food prices.
The experts told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in separate interviews in Lagos, while reacting to June inflation data which said that enhanced investment in agriculture would boost food production.
Dr Uche Uwaleke, the Head of Banking and Finance Department, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, said that efforts should be geared toward self-sufficiency in food production.
Uwaleke said there should be more funding for Universities and Colleges of Agriculture to boost growth and development in the country.
According to him, the food price index of 19.91 per cent in June compared to 19.27 per cent posted in May remains a source of concern.
“Nevertheless, the rising cost of food prices by 0.64 points in June remains a source of concern.
“Given that foreign exchange liquidity is a major influence on Consumer Price Index, a slump in crude oil price could reverse the gains already recorded in the effort at taming inflation,’’ he said.
According to him, it is a wrong time for the country to be exporting food products going by the available statistics.
He said that the marginal reduction in headline inflation from 16.25 per cent in May to 16.10 per cent in June showed that inflation would continue to trend downward as long as the present relative liquidity in the foreign exchange market was sustained.
Uwaleke said “at this rate, government projection of 15.74 per cent in the 2017 budget appears realistic.”
According to Mr Ambrose Omordion, the Chief Operating Officer, InvestData Ltd., the inflation figure came in as expected, but failed to beat expectations of most analysts.
Omordion said that the decline was estimated by analysts to be below 16 per cent from May inflation rate of 16.25 per cent.
He stated that in spite of the marginal decline, the good thing in the positive economic data still confirmed that the nation’s economy was gradually moving away from late contraction to early expansion.
Omordion, however, called for fiscal input measures to complement the monetary policies to fasten the country’s economic recovery process.
NAN reports that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday released the June inflation data.
The NBS said that the inflation eased to 16.10 per cent from 16.25 per cent achieved in May.
It also said that a separate food price index showed inflation at 19.91 per cent, up from 19.27 per cent in May due to continued pressure on food prices. (NAN)
JNC/KOLE/EEE
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Edited by Remi Koleoso/Ese E. Ekama