Adesina warns against importing food, says “Nigeria should be producing more food to stabilise food prices while creating jobs”
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
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“Nigeria cannot import its way out of food insecurity. Nigeria must not be turned into a food import-dependent nation” – Akinwumi Adesina
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Nigeria’s latest plan to import food on a massive scale has been rubbished by African Development Bank (AfDB) President Akinwumi Adesina, who has a doctorate degree in agricultural economics and was the country’s Agriculture Minister when Goodluck Jonathan was at the helm in the Villa.
Rice farmers have also alerted that importing the staple food will discourage and hamper local production, among other problems.
Bola Tinubu issued an Executive Order in July 2023 declaring a state of emergency on food but, a year on, nothing has come of it except escalating food prices in a country with vast swathes of arable land but held captive by terrorists and pervasive corruption the President fails to tackle.
Nigeria’s food inflation is currently 40.66 per cent, above headline inflation at 33.69 per cent.
The government broke the news last week of the plan to import rice and other grains to crash food prices but later recanted it, saying it was still in the works and should not have been announced yet.
Agriculture and Food Security Minister Abubakar Kyari also announced a Duty-Free Import Window of 150 days (five months) for maize, wheat, rice and other staple foods.
Adesina bared his mind before African Primates of the Anglican Church at a retreat in Abuja at the weekend.
He warned the decision by the government to allow massive food importation risks destroying the country’s agriculture.
He said instead of imports, Nigeria should focus on producing more food to stabilise food prices which will create jobs and provide other advantages.
“Nigeria cannot rely on the importation of food to stabilise prices. Nigeria should be producing more food to stabilise food prices while creating jobs and reducing foreign exchange spending, which will further help stabilise the naira,” he counselled.
“Nigeria cannot import its way out of food insecurity. Nigeria must not be turned into a food import-dependent nation.”
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