Akinwumi Adesina, the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), has voiced his unhappiness with the federal government’s new policy that ends the ban on food imports. Speaking at a gathering of African Primates from the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA) in Abuja, Adesina emphasized that the country should not depend on importing food to keep prices stable.
A recent announcement from Abubakar Kyari, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security provided the context for his remarks. On July 8, Kyari said that for the next 150 days, duties, tariffs, and taxes on imports of maize, husked brown rice, wheat, and cowpeas would be lifted through Nigeria’s land and sea borders.
Addressing this policy change at the retreat, Adesina argued that such measures would only offer temporary relief for food prices. He pointed out that Nigeria should focus on increasing its own food production to stabilize prices, create jobs, and reduce spending on foreign exchange, which would also help stabilize the naira.
In his speech, Adesina said, “Nigeria’s new policy to open its borders for large-scale food imports, just to deal with short-term food price increases, is disheartening. Nigeria must not depend on food imports to keep prices stable. Instead, Nigeria should be producing more food to stabilize food prices, create employment opportunities, and lessen foreign exchange spending, which will also help stabilize our currency. Importing food is not the solution to our food insecurity.”
