Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, announced an emergency plan to curb rising food prices and ensure food security. The plan includes a 150-day duty-free import window for essential food items such as maize, wheat, rice, and cowpeas, to stabilize supply ahead of harvest.
Kyari emphasized that the program aims to provide immediate relief by suspending duties, tariffs, and taxes on certain imports. He assured the public of the safety and quality of these imports, which will be distributed to small-scale processors nationwide. The initiative also involves restocking the national food reserve and supporting smallholder farmers for the 2024/2025 farming cycle.
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The plan includes aggressive agricultural mechanization, identifying irrigable lands, and promoting greenhouse cultivation for crops like tomatoes and peppers. Kyari highlighted ongoing collaborations with the military to cultivate arable lands and the inauguration of the Renewed Hope National Livestock Transformation Implementation Committee to boost livestock development.
However, rice farmers expressed concerns that the tax exemption for rice imports could discourage local cultivation. Lagos State RIFAN Chairman, Raphael Hunsa, urged the government to support local farmers, arguing that increased imports would hurt local production. Customs Comptroller-General Adewale Adeniyi clarified that the policy does not imply open borders for all imports and existing regulations remain in effect.
