Food importation may destroy Nigeria’s agric sector – AfDB President

The President, African Development Bank Group, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has warned that the decision by the Federal Government to allow massive food importation may destroy the country’s agriculture sector.

Adesina, who spoke at a retreat by the African Primates of the Anglican Church in Abuja, advised the Nigerian government to produce more food and create jobs through agriculture.

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

Kyari had said, “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.”

The minister had stated that in addition to the importation by the private sector, 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.”

Reacting to this plan, in a speech made at the retreat held on Friday in Abuja, and posted on the website of AfDB on Saturday, Adesina faulted the policy.

Adesina, a former agriculture minister, said, “Nigeria’s recently announced policy to open its borders for massive food imports, just to tackle short-term food price hikes, is depressing.”

He warned that the policy could undermine all the hard work and private investments that had gone into Nigeria’s agriculture 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, that 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.

Adesina who spoke on the theme, ‘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.

The bank chief stated that the clergymen had assembled in Abuja under the umbrella of the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa, representing more than 40 million Anglicans across the continent.