Africa Press-Nigeria:
Abuja — Analysts yesterday called on the federal government to leverage on the COVID-19 pandemic and incentivise local food production, especially agribusiness, to boost the economy as headline inflation increased to 13.71 per cent in September from 13.22 per cent in the preceding month.
They said the support for local production would boost employment generation and reduce insecurity as well as curtail inflation in the long run.
The analysts also called for further reduction in Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) to encourage the investment of more funds in the real sector, adding that moral suasion alone appeared to be limited in the current situation.
The analysts, who spoke in separate interviews with THISDAY in response to the inflation outcome, also stressed the need for the government to support farmers in the entire agricultural value chain with credit and create avenues for foreign market penetration.
They stated that the harvest season may not significantly curb inflation except issues of insecurity and foreign exchange pressures are addressed.
They also asked the government to speed up the implementation of the mass agriculture programme in the Economic Sustainability Plan in order to arrest the rising inflation.
The analysts were reacting to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which showed that the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation rose to 13.71 per cent (year-on-year) in September compared to 13.22 per cent in the preceding month.
