Recently, the minister of agriculture and food security, Abubakar Kyari, revealed that the Nigerian government has approved a 150-day duty-free import window for commodities such as maize, husked brown rice, wheat, and cowpeas, as part of the implementation of the newly launched Presidential Accelerated Stabilisation and Advancement Plan.
According to Kyari, commodities imported during the 150-day duty-free import window would be subjected to price control.
The minister, who admitted that Nigeria was facing a critical food security challenge, said President Bola Tinubu was committed to the attainment of food security and ensuring that no Nigerian goes to bed hungry.
However, experts have cautioned that the protem policy is likely to affect private investments in the agriculture sector and valuechain.
President of the African Development Bank Group, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina described the policy as “depressing” despite its good intentions. He noted further that the policy could undermine all the hard work and private investments that have gone into Nigeria’s agriculture sector.
Farmers are also quick to criticise the federal government’s decision, saying that the efforts of local farmers who have spent billions of naira on farm inputs will not be recovered. The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) also felt the policy was not a sustainable approach to tackling food insecurity in Nigeria.
The AFAN President, Kabir Ibrahim, said recently that “the only sustainable solution was to ensure that farmers are given subsidies on all imports so that they will fill up productivity in the country and have a sustainable food system. Importing anything will not give you sustainable food security,” he said.
No doubt, Nigerian masses have been going through economic hardships as a result of some fiscal and monetary policies being implemented by the present administration since May last year. These have resulted in a galloping inflationary trend and worsening of the living conditions of the masses.
We make bold to say that some farmers and agric investors have contributed to the hunger being experienced by low income earners and less privileged families in Nigeria. We are also of the opinion that importing husked brown rice is not a solution to rice price hikes as distributors will still claim high cost of milling the rice. Whichever way, the cost is still transferred to the poor masses.
It is, therefore, our view that investors’ interest must be aligned with national interest, especially taking into cognisance the untold hardships and plights of the masses.
It is also our view that the federal government should take a holistic review of its agric policies and tale input across board to arrive at a realistic panacea to our festering food crisis.
It is also the duty of all stakeholders to support the government’s initiative aimed at cushioning the effects of the current hardship in the country.
