Akinwumi Adesina, the president of the African Development Bank, has warned that Nigeria’s decision to permit large-scale food importation could harm the country’s agriculture sector.
On July 10, Nigeria’s agriculture minister, Abubakar Kyari, announced that the government would temporarily lift duties, tariffs, and taxes on the importation of certain food items. Adesina, a former Nigerian agriculture minister, criticized the move during a speech in Abuja, describing it as a troubling response to short-term food price increases.
He cautioned that the policy might weaken private investments in Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
According to him, depending on food imports to stabilize prices is not a sustainable solution. Nigeria needs to increase food production to stabilize prices, generate employment opportunities, and decrease spending on foreign exchange, which will also contribute to stabilizing the naira.
The government of President Bola Tinubu has been under pressure to allow the importation of food in a bid to tackle runaway food price inflation, which quickened to 40.9% in June from 40.7% a month earlier.
Minister Kyari also confirmed that the government will import 250,000 metric tons of wheat and 250,000 metric tons of maize. These semi-processed commodities will be supplied to small-scale processors and millers across Nigeria. Imported food commodities will be subjected to a recommended retail price, the minister said.
But Adesina argued that Nigeria “must feed itself with pride,” and warned that “a nation that depends on others to feed itself, is independent only in name.”
“Nigeria cannot import its way out of food insecurity,” he said, “Nigeria must not be turned into a food import-dependent nation.”
Adesina’s two terms at the helm of the African Development Bank will draw to a close in September 2025, and the race to replace him has already begun in earnest.
Government pursues additional policies
As well as allowing the import of food, Kyari also unveiled plans to ramp up production for the 2024/2025 farming cycle.
That would include measures such as support for smallholders during the wet season; strengthening dry season farming; embarking on “aggressive” mechanisation; increasing irrigation and land under cultivation; and boosting livestock farming.
“As our nation confronts this critical food security challenge, I reiterate President Tinubu’s unwavering commitment to achieving food security and ensuring that no Nigerian goes to bed hungry,” Kyari said.
“My team and I will work swiftly and diligently to actualise these crucial policies, ensuring food security for everyone in the immediate term while continuing our strategies for long-term interventions to address underlying causes and ensure sustainable and resilient food systems in Nigeria,” the minister wrote.
