Importation of food items including rice, maize and wheat among others, will for the next 150 days, enjoy the void of import duties, tariffs and taxes on land and sea borders, according to a new directive from the Federal Government, FG.
This is coming on the heels of the FG’s effort to tackle the high cost of foodstuffs and economic hardship which had been troubling many Nigerians for years.
Speaking at a press conference which held yesterday in Abuja, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, announced a 150-day duty-free import window for food commodities through land and sea borders, adding that the 150 days of duty-free imports would be valid for commodities including maize, husked brown rice, wheat and cowpeas.
The initiative which is part of the Presidential Accelerated Stabilisation and Advancement Plan would also enable the Federal Government to import 250,000 metric tonnes of wheat and 250,000MT of maize in addition to importation by the private sector.
The FG, through the minister of Agriculture and Food Security also disclosed that it will be partnering states to expand land cultivation across the country, adding that imported food commodities in their semi-processed state would target supplies to the small-scale processors and millers across the country in a bid to advance the initiative of President Bola Tinubu which aims to bring about food security, economic stability and put an end to the affordability crisis in the nation’s food security system which had already been indexed by the data from the National Bureau of Statistics and which by the last count, had put food inflation at 40.66 per cent.
With the new directive affecting inputs for agricultural production such as fertilisers, seedlings and chemicals, pharmaceutical products, poultry feeds, flour and grains, the minister says it aims to reduce demand for forex by food importers given that Nigeria had reportedly spent over $2.13bn on food importation in the year 2023.
Kyari 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.
“I am aware that some good citizens might be concerned about the quality of the would-be imported food commodities as it relates to the trending worries around the genetic composition of food. I am glad to reiterate that the government’s position exemplifies standards that would not compromise the safety of the various food items for consumption.”
He noted that over the past several months, “we have all been witnesses to the escalating cost of food items in all parts of the country. There is virtually no food item that has not had its price raised to a level higher than what a good many Nigerians can afford.”
The minister acknowledged how Nigerians have battled high food prices since the president announced the removal of petrol subsidies in 2023 and the floating of the naira, which was meant to allow market forces to determine the value of the Nigerian currency.
According to him, agricultural production activities had been hampered in some parts of the country by several factors resulting in the inability of smallholder farmers to contribute optimally to the country’s food basket.
He also noted that Nigerians have been struggling with rising food prices leading to many farmers (both crops and livestock) reducing their production in response to inflationary pressure, insecurity and extreme weather conditions ravaging rural communities.
Some farm owners have also had to close their doors due to the year-long increase in the prices of goods and services.
In lieu of these, the minister said President Tinubu’s initiative had opened a new dimension to the food challenge from affordability to availability of sufficient food commodities.
He said, “we have heard the cries of Nigeria over the prices of food items and condiments, with some now describing tomato as gold and proposing a variety of recipes to prepare soups and dishes with some of the overly priced food items.
“What in the past was regarded as common items such as yam, plantain, and potato now command excessively high figures and Nigerians are right to wonder how and why things are the way they are.
“As a government under the leadership of President Tinubu, members of the Federal Executive Council and indeed all other operatives in the MDAs are fully aware of the hardship occasioned by the high cost of food items in our country. There is no doubt that food inflation is a direct consequence of several factors.
“As you may recall, earlier in the year, there were several interventions by the Federal Government to make food available and to dampen their prices. Those interventions include the release of 42,000MT of assorted food commodities from the National Strategic Food Reserve, 58,500MT purchase of milled rice from the Rice Processors Association of Nigeria and an additional 30,000MT of rice.
“Regrettably, prices have continued to escalate, and in some cases these days, food items are becoming unavailable. The Government cannot allow this situation to persist. While there are ongoing agricultural initiatives, programmes and projects under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, and state governments also have theirs, we must respond to the creeping availability crisis.
“As the government continues to encourage agricultural production on a sustainable and profitable basis for farmers, the time lag between cultivation and harvest makes it inevitable for the government to kick in stop-gap measures that will bring tremendous relief to Nigerians.
“For instance, harvest for 2024 wet season farming will not be due until October-November. On the one hand, while the measures aim to alleviate immediate food shortages, we will strengthen domestic production capabilities to enhance long-term food security.”
Meanwhile, the minister attributed the country’s food inflation figures to infrastructural challenges, multiple taxes and levies and the sheer profiteering by marketers and traders, adding that, the government would collaborate with state governments to identify irrigable lands and increase land under cultivation.
The government further pledged to ramp up production for the 2024/2025 farming cycle, through, “Sustained support to smallholder farmers in the ongoing wet season farming through existing government initiatives, strengthen and accelerate Dry Season Farming across the country.
“Embark on aggressive agricultural mechanization and development to reduce drudgery, drive, reduce the cost of production and boost productivity, collaborate with Sub-National to identify irrigable lands and increase land under cultivation and work closely with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation to rehabilitate and maintain irrigation facilities under river basin authorities across the federation.
“Development of a strategic engagement for youth and women across the federation for immediate greenhouse cultivation of horticultural crops such as tomatoes and pepper to increase production volume, stabilize prices, and address food shortages.
“Fast-tracking ongoing engagements with the Nigerian Military to rapidly cultivate arable lands under the Defence Farms Scheme, while encouraging other Para-Military establishments to put secured available arable lands to cultivation.”
Reacting to the development, the National President of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Dele Oye, commended the Federal Government on the move to suspend taxes on food imports.
According to Oye, it was a step in the right direction as he noted that while it was imperative that the government immediately engaged with stakeholders across the agricultural value chain, these measures were applauded.
Oye said, “We commend the Federal Government’s decisive action to suspend duties, tariffs, and taxes on the importation of key food commodities. This initiative, announced by Honourable Minister Abubakar Kyari, represents a significant step towards mitigating the severe food inflation currently impacting Nigerian households.
“The 150-day duty-free import window for essential items such as maize, husked brown rice, wheat, and cowpeas is a commendable move that will likely stabilize food prices and provide much-needed relief to millions of Nigerians.
“By addressing the multiple factors contributing to rising food prices, including infrastructural challenges and market profiteering, this policy demonstrates a comprehensive approach to ensuring food affordability.”
The NACCIMA president added that, “this engagement is crucial to ensure that Nigeria is not turned into a dumping ground for commodities where we already have reasonable self-sufficiency.
“Protecting local investments and sustaining the growth of our agricultural sector must remain a priority.
“NACCIMA stands ready to support the government in these efforts, ensuring that the strategic importation of food commodities complements rather than undermines our domestic agricultural production. Together, we can secure a balanced approach that safeguards both the immediate needs of our citizens and the long-term sustainability of our agricultural economy.”
Similarly, Dr Ikenna Nwosu who is a member of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, while reacting to the development said Nigeria’s domestic food supply had yet to meet domestic demand and opined that “reduction in the cost of imported food is a justifiable temporary stabilisation measure to meet market demand imperatives.”
On his part, the National Vice President of the Nigerian Association of Small-Scale Industrialists, Segun Kuti-George, applauded the initiative stating that it was a welcome development.
According to Kuti-George who asserted that Nigeria was almost a million square kilometres with 70-80 per cent of the landmass being agri-friendly, said, “Like it was stated in the minister’s speech, it is a 150-day kind of relief. 150 days, we are talking about five months. So we are talking between now and December.
“The goal will be to bring down the cost of essential food items in the market. You will see that they are attached to those items that are either consumed directly or used in the production of one thing or another.
“It is a welcome development. Like I said, it can be a long-term thing. What would be a long-term solution? It would be for us to boost our agri-production. We should find ways and means to encourage local cultivation and planting of all these things. One of the ways to do that is to fund the agri-sector.
“Another way is to provide security for farmers, or generally to improve the security architecture of the country. A situation whereby people go to farm and plant, and then some rebels or whatever they call them come around to kill them on their farms, or the cattle rearers come to bring to eat up their crops. It is a major cost of this food scarcity. We have fertile land all over the place.”
He added, “So if that is the case, we shouldn’t be talking of the food shortage. Another way to go about this is to avail the farmers of tools that are necessary for massive cultivation. A situation whereby we are still using cutlasses and how to cultivate land in a country of over 200 million people in the 21st century, leaves much to be desired. Governments should identify farmers, and cooperative societies, and fund them and avail them with the kind of tools, modern tools, machines, that are required to cultivate land massively. Cultivate land massively, be able to tend the crops, be able to harvest. You have harvesters not harvesting by hand.
“We should also encourage processing and exporting raw agri-products. Exportation of raw agri-products is not acceptable at this time and age. We should be able to process whatever we have harvested, even if we are going to export them.
“Another issue here is that of lack of storage. A lot of our agri-produces get destroyed, they get spoiled. You harvest tomatoes, but you cannot conserve them for a long time, they get rotten away. Mangoes, fruits, all these peppers, there are no preservation facilities for our agri-produces. And that is again compounded by the fact that we lack the necessary infrastructures to get our harvest quickly to the market, to the extent that almost 50 per cent of centi-harvests get destroyed before they get to the market. That’s also part of what is causing, contributing to this scarcity that we’re talking about.
“If crops are harvested on the farms that are far away from the market and there are no good roads, no good means of transportation to bring them to where they will be sold, it’s also another major problem causing the kind of scarcity and high prices that we are experiencing. But going back to the point that we started with, the tariff removal is a good step in the right direction, but it is only a temporary solution.”
