The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, announced a comprehensive strategy set to unfold over the next six months aimed at tackling Nigeria’s soaring food prices.
Kyari outlined key initiatives including a 150-day duty-free import window for essential food commodities such as maize, husked brown rice, wheat, and cowpeas, intended to stabilize prices and ensure availability. Emphasizing quality control, he assured that imported items would meet strict safety standards.
In addition to facilitating imports, the government plans to bring in 250,000 metric tons each of wheat and maize, supplying these semi-processed goods to small-scale processors nationwide. This move aims to bolster local production capabilities and alleviate shortages.
Further measures include setting Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), purchasing surplus food stocks to replenish the National Strategic Food Reserve, and enhancing agricultural output for the 2024/2025 farming cycle. Strategies encompass support for smallholder farmers, mechanization efforts to boost productivity, and rehabilitation of irrigation facilities.
Kyari highlighted collaboration with the Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit and the Economic Management Team to finalize implementation frameworks within the next fortnight. He underscored the critical role of cooperation among ministries, departments, and stakeholders in achieving food security goals.
“As Nigeria faces this food security challenge, President Tinubu’s commitment to ensuring no citizen goes hungry remains steadfast,” Kyari affirmed, pledging swift implementation to meet immediate needs while laying foundations for sustainable, resilient food systems.
The initiatives reflect a proactive approach to mitigating food scarcity and price volatility, underscoring the government’s resolve to safeguard national food security amidst prevailing challenges.
