Food supply
By Aminu Garko
The Dawanau International Grains market has revealed that about 85 percent of the foodstuff supplied for Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs camps across Nigeria and beyond is supplied from the market.
Alhaji Muttaka Isa, President Dawanau Market Development Association, DMDA made this disclosure during an interaction with journalists at his office in Kano on Wednesday.
According to him, Dawanau grain market provides about 85 percent of foodstuff supplied for World Food Programme in Nigeria.
He said the market, situated at Dawakin-Tofa Local Government area of Kano state, had become a food basket of Northern Nigeria and sub-saharan Africa, by extension.
“This market is very big and operates beyond imagination. I can tell you that this world food programme, we provide 80 to 85 percent of the foodstuff supplied for IDPs camps across Nigeria,” he said.
Isa encouraged Nigerians to engage in exportation of cash crops such as sesame, hibiscus, groundnuts among others.
According to the President, exportation of such crops is profitable and boost the government’s revenue derive.
He noted that exportation of such crops would also aid in reviving the Naira against dollar, which by extension, strengthen the nation’s economy.
He however cited lack of power supply as one of the major challenges bidevilling the market.
According to him, lack of steady electricity supply had caused them spend a lot on diesel to power the machines and equipment used in processing foods at the market, forcing them to engage other firms to do the work for them.
“Again, rising prices of good and services is also a major challenge to us. For instance, cost of transportation of goods supplied from Southern part of this country has been skyrocketed. It is now above N1 million.
“This must give rise to the prices of commodities against our wish,” he said.
