Food inflation jumps nearly 14% a year after Tinubu’s declaration which has yielded little
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency on food security on 13 July 2023 and pronounced matters about food and water availability would be handled by the National Security Council (NSC).
The state of emergency followed concern by the President over escalating prices of food items after the removal of fuel subsidy.
National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data shows food inflation in July 2023 was 26.98 per cent – up 1.73 per cent on the figure for June 2023.
Despite Tinubu’s declaration food inflation has risen by 13.89 percentage points from 26.98 per cent in July 2023 to 40.87 per cent in June 2024.
Prices of food items have doubled, some as high as by 160 per cent, with staples such as rice, eggs, beans, fish, garri, yam, sweet potato, plantain, maize and others seeing more than 100 per cent increase, according to the NBS.
The-then Presidential Adviser on Information and Strategy, Dele Alake, explained at the time the administration planned to create a national commodities exchange board, maintain strategic reserve to ensure a steady food supply, and deploy savings from fuel subsidy removal to fund agriculture.
His words: “We shall create and support a national commodities exchange board that will review food prices as well as maintain strategic food reserves that will be used as a price stabilisation mechanism for critical grains and food items.
“In furtherance of this, the federal government would engage security architecture to protect the farms and the farmers so that farmers can return to the farmlands without fear of attacks.
“The Central Bank will continue to play a major role in funding the agricultural value chain.”
But Community Allied Farmers Association of Nigeria (COMAFAN) President Austine Maduka said Tinubu’s efforts to boost food supply and stem food inflation have hardly achieved anything.
“While the Presidency has made some commitment to food security, the actions taken so far have not yielded significant results. Food insecurity remains a pressing issue in Nigeria, and more needs to be done to address the root causes.”
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