Food importation may destroy Nigeria’s agric sector, Adesina warns FG

Adesina, a former Agriculture Minister, gave the warning while speaking at a retreat by the African Primates of the Anglican Church in Abuja on Friday, July 12, 2024.

He described the government's plan as depressing, noting that Nigeria should be producing more food to stabilise food prices while creating jobs and reducing foreign exchange spending.

Recall the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, disclosed on July 10, 2024, that the Federal Government would suspend duties, tariffs, and taxes on the importation of wheat, cowpeas, husked brown rice, and maize through the nation's land and sea borders for 150 days.

“To ameliorate food inflation in the country caused by affordability and exacerbated by availability, the government has taken a raft of measures to be implemented over the next 180 days.

“A 150-day duty-free import window for food commodities, suspension of duties, tariffs and taxes for the importation of certain food commodities (through land and sea borders). These commodities include maize, husked brown rice, wheat and cowpeas. Under this arrangement, imported food commodities will be subjected to a Recommended Retail Price,” Kyari said.

In addition to the importation by the private sector, the minister said the “Federal Government will import 250,000MT of wheat and 250,000MT of maize. The imported food commodities in their semi-processed state will target supplies to the small-scale processors and millers across the country.”

In his reaction at the retreat, which was posted on the website of AfDB on Saturday, Adesina faulted the policy.

The AfDB President warned that the policy could monkey wrench all the hard work and private investments that had been sunken into Nigeria's agricultural sector.

“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.

“Nigeria cannot import its way out of food insecurity. Nigeria must not be turned into a food import-dependent nation,” he stated.

‘Food security and financial sustainability in Africa: The role of the Church’, said Nigeria “must feed itself with pride,” warning, “a nation that depends on others to feed itself, is independent only in name.”

“It is clear therefore that unless we transform agriculture, Africa cannot eliminate poverty,” he insisted.

“Essentially, food is money. The size of the food and agriculture market in Africa will reach $1tn by 2030,” Adesina added.