The federal government’s intention to import food has drawn criticism from Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank, who called the policy “depressing.”
Speaking on the topic of “Food Security and Financial Sustainability in Africa,” he made this statement on Saturday at the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa retreat in Abuja.
He asserts that Nigeria cannot depend on food imports to keep prices stable and that doing so would undermine the nation’s agriculture strategy.
He clarified that food production should be prioritised in order to maintain price stability, ease pressure on the foreign exchange front, and generate employment.
“It is depressing that Nigeria has recently announced that it will be opening its borders to massive food imports in order to address short-term price hikes,” Adesina said.
“Nigeria cannot depend on food imports to keep prices stable. Nigeria ought to increase food production in order to keep food prices stable. Additionally, job creation and a decrease in foreign exchange expenditure will support Naira stability.”
“Importing will not solve Nigeria’s food insecurity problem. Nigeria must not become a country that imports all of its food.”
Africa’s food system’s potential
In addition, Dr. Adesina pointed out that nearly a third of the world’s 780 million hungry people live in Africa. The president of the African Development Bank also stressed the importance of agriculture in helping to diversify economies and transform rural areas, where the majority of the continent’s population lives. He emphasized, “It is evident therefore that Africa cannot eradicate poverty unless we transform agriculture.”
In order to feed an expected 9.5 billion people by 2050, Adesina pointed out that Africa is home to 65% of the world’s remaining uncultivated arable land. Thus, the future of food in the globe will depend on what Africa accomplishes with its agricultural sector.
“In essence, food is money. By 2030, the African food and agribusiness sector is expected to grow to $1 trillion in value, according to him.
Background
As part of efforts to stabilize market prices, the federal government, acting through the Ministry of Agriculture, said last week that it would permit the duty-free importation of food products such wheat, rice paddy, and maize for a period of 150 days.
President Tinubu had previously declared that Nigeria will not import food, but rather grow its own food, hence this action runs counter to the administration’s previous stance on food security.
But the decision to import food has angered farmers in particular. The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) President had previously declared that the importation of food would undermine the progress achieved in the production of rice, maize, and wheat. Meanwhile, the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) had responded to the policy by asserting that the federal government ought to support rice farmers instead of importing.
With food inflation of little over 40%, food costs in Nigeria have risen in the past year, plunging millions into poverty and famine. The issue is predicted to cause acute hunger and malnutrition for 32 million people this year.
