By Samuel Oyadongha

The Federal Government loses about N97 billion annually in foreign exchange due to the rise in importation of fish and fishery products to the country.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina disclosed this in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, during the opening session of the 27th Annual Conference and Biennial General Meeting tagged “Bayelsa 2012”.  He said plans are afoot to ban the importation of fishes and fishery products from Europe and Latin America due to the huge drain on the nation’s economy.

Represented by Alhaji Bukar Tijani, the Minister of State in the ministry, he said the new agenda of the federal government is to promote increase in the supply of raw materials for Argo industries, employment generation, foreign exchange earners, conservation of foreign exchange through import substitution, local consumption and national food security.

He announced that the federal government has also approved the sum of N17.6 billion to be shared among flood devastated states for fish and crop farmers to assuage anticipated cases of food crises.

“We can assure the people that there would not be food crises as another N9.7billion palliative for food production have been put in place,” he said.