Nigerians are still grappling with high food prices, despite the promise made by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, that food prices would crash in 180 days. The promise was made in July 2024, with the minister assuring that strategic measures would be put in place to address the high food prices nationwide. Some of the measures promised by the minister included the suspension of duties, tariffs, and taxes on food items such as maize, husked brown rice, wheat, and cowpeas. Additionally, the Federal Government promised to import 250,000 metric tonnes of wheat and 250,000 metric tonnes of maize to be supplied to small-scale processors and millers across the country.
The minister also promised that the government would embark on aggressive agricultural mechanization to strengthen dry-season farming and boost productivity. These measures, calculated to calm food inflation in 180 days, gave Nigerians a sense of hope that by the first week of January 2025, the prices of essential staples would have crashed. However, 180 days after the promise was made, food prices continue to soar. A 50kg bag of rice, which sold for N85,000 when the minister made the promise, now sells for over N100,000. The Ministry of Agriculture has not offered any explanation as to why the measures promised have not been implemented yet.
The government has highlighted several factors that have hindered its efforts to control food inflation. According to the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Yemi Cardoso, some of the factors include the rising cost of transporting farm produce, infrastructure-related constraints within the distribution network, security challenges in some food-producing areas, and the impact of exchange rate fluctuations on the prices of imported food items. These challenges have contributed to the government’s inability to fulfill its promise of crashing food prices.
Civil Society Organizations and farmers have reacted to the government’s unfulfilled promise. The Chairman of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, AFAN, Federal Capital Territory, FCT Chapter, Nkechi Okafor, stated that the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security had good intentions, but the lack of effective actions slowed down the process. Okafor noted that food prices cannot just go down overnight, especially with the multiple taxation faced on Nigeria highways by transporters, which is just one out of numerous challenges faced by agricultural value chain actors in Nigeria.
The Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, CISLAC, Auwal Rafsanjani, advised the government to stop making exaggerated promises and instead work quietly to achieve its goals. Rafsanjani stated that public officials should be mindful of saying things that they have no control over, especially when the President does not believe in price control. The Executive Director of Global Rights Nigeria, Abiodun Baiyewu, described the minister’s comments as careless and urged him to apologize to Nigerians for raising their expectations. Baiyewu noted that the minister’s promise was a poor attempt at rallying support for the Tinubu administration by giving false hope.
To address the challenges facing the agricultural sector and control food inflation, the government needs to take a holistic approach. This includes implementing the promised measures, such as suspending duties, tariffs, and taxes on food items, investing in agricultural mechanization and infrastructure development, addressing security challenges in food-producing areas, providing support to small-scale farmers and processors, and encouraging private sector investment in the agricultural sector. It is essential for the government to work effectively to address these challenges and provide relief to Nigerians struggling with high food prices.
