The fact that Nigeria’s food import bill has reached unprecedented heights, signals a significant challenge for the nation’s economy and food security. In the first quarter of 2024, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported a 95.28 per cent increase in food imports, amounting to N920.54 billion, compared to N471.39 billion in the same period last year. This alarming surge coincides with a record food inflation rate of 40.5 per cent in April, reflecting a 15.92 per cent year-on-year increase, and leaving many Nigerians struggling to afford a balanced diet.
Despite President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency on food production and his commitment to self-sufficiency, Nigeria’s dependence on food imports has deepened. The importation of key staples such as durum wheat from Canada and Lithuania, and frozen blue whitings from the Netherlands, has skyrocketed. Wheat alone accounted for N519.75 billion of the total food import bill, highlighting its importance in the Nigerian diet as prices for substitutes like garri and rice soar.
The increase in food imports is part of a broader trend, with Nigeria’s total imports for Q1 2024 reaching N12.64 trillion, a 39.65 percent increase from N9.05 trillion in Q4 2023 and a 95.53 percent rise from N6.47 trillion in Q1 2023. Food imports now constitute 7.3 per cent of total imports, underscoring the persistent challenges in Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
Amidst these challenges, the federal government has invested N266 billion in agricultural research institutes over the past five years, averaging N53.2 billion annually. These institutes are tasked with developing technologies and quality seeds to boost agricultural productivity. However, the anticipated improvements in farmer output and food security have not materialised, revealing systemic issues within the sector.
Farmers and analysts attribute the lack of tangible results from the research institutes to a combination of corruption, inadequate funding, poor government policies, and ineffective distribution chains.
Abiodun Olorundero, managing partner at Prasinos Farms, pointed out the absence of key performance indicators and proper monitoring, which has allowed misappropriation of funds and inefficiency to thrive. As a result, many institutes are plagued by outdated equipment and leadership conflicts, rendering them ineffective.
Tajudeen Ibrahim, director of research and strategy at Chapel Hill Denham, on his part, emphasised that the government’s failure to fully implement policy recommendations from researchers significantly hampers progress.
He noted that this disconnect between research outputs and practical application leaves farmers without access to improved seed varieties and technologies essential for enhancing productivity.
The chief executive of AntHill Concepts Limited, and Member of the Board of Economists, Dr. Emeka Okngwu, on his part, roots technology as an approach to remedy food scarcity in Nigeria. “What about greenhouse as an emergency? What about using technology so that it can be more sustainable? What if we had the technology to produce tomatoes on and off-season? So, instead of starting the conversation of these short-term measures and then start struggling with the ones that are genetically modified, why not focus on technology-assisted agriculture production programmes and charge the people who are in charge of the research institutes in Nigeria? Certainly, there will be more production,” he probed.
He said what is needed is for the government to look inward by charging the government’s research institutions to break grounds. “My position would be for the president to take charge of the Ministry of Science and Technology or some other capable hands to be able to make some meaningful gains. That is the key thing we can do to get us out of the doldrums. If research institutions across the country were steered toward the single purpose of using technology to adapt and mitigate climate change the way it’s supposed to be done to accelerate the production of food in and out of season we would be out of the woods in terms of food security.
“It takes between 24 and 48 hours to set up a greenhouse, and another 21 days to harvest and you can do anything and everything from then on. It’s all about technology controlling the weather. If you do that, we will not only produce enough food, but we will also have enough to export and create jobs. We will now create rural infrastructure, and people will begin to migrate to the rural areas. The cycle is endless, and once things like that begin to happen we will begin to have peace among ourselves.”
The chief executive of the Center for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr. Muda Yusuf, noted that the best way out of the current food crisis is to increase production. He said the government needs to call the stakeholders together to dialogue and forge a way forward to producing more food. He said the government needs to ask the stakeholders, “What do we need to do for you to increase food production?” he stated that some crops can grow and mature in six months, whereas others can mature in one year. “That, for me, is a major first step,” he said.
On the fiscal side, Dr. Yusuf said there is a need for the government to allow the importation of paddy rice. He stated that the local capacity to mill rice is under-utilised, which has made some shut down because of the under-production of local paddy. He, therefore, pushed for the importation of paddy to supply local mills and reduce food shortage.
He added that there should be some measures to reduce import duties on some industrial products, including those for food processing. He said such measures would go a long way to improve domestic production.
However, the Dean at Adeleke University, Professor Tayo Bello, told NATIONAL ECONOMY that the problem with food shortage has to do with insecurity. Benue, Kaduna, Zamfara, Borno, Taraba, and the like, are all food-producing states. If the farmers in these states are allowed to farm unhindered, there will be food. Except for rice, Nigeria is self-sufficient in the production of most local agricultural products. “Security should be the chief concern of all Nigerians,” he said.
