By Adedapo Adesanya
The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, Mr Akinwumi Adesina, has kicked against the decision of the Nigerian government to allow massive food importation.
Mr Adesina, a former Minister of Agriculture, said the move risks destroying the country’s agriculture.
He was reacting to the announcement by Nigeria’s Minister for Agriculture, Mr Abubakar Kyari, on July 10, that the federal government would suspend duties, tariffs, and taxes on the importation of maize, husked brown rice, wheat, and cowpeas through the country’s land and sea borders, for 150 days.
In a post on the AFDB’s X account on Sunday, Mr Adesina said, “Nigeria’s recently announced policy to open its borders for massive food imports, just to tackle short-term food price hikes, is depressing.”
While addressing African Primates of the Anglican Church at a Retreat in Abuja, on the theme Food security and financial sustainability in Africa: The role of the Church, he warned that the policy could undermine all the hard work and private investments, that have gone into Nigeria’s agriculture sector.
“Nigeria cannot rely on the importation of food to stabilise prices. Nigeria should be producing more food to stabilise food prices while creating jobs and reducing foreign exchange spending, which will further help stabilise the Naira,” the AfDB chief stated.
“Nigeria cannot import its way out of food insecurity,” he said, “Nigeria must not be turned into a food import-dependent nation.”
Mr Adesina said Nigeria “must feed itself with pride,” warning, “a nation that depends on others to feed itself, is independent only in name.”
He noted that Africa accounts for nearly a third of the more than 780 million people worldwide who are hungry, adding that agriculture is critical for the diversification of economies, and for the transformation of rural areas, where over 70 per cent of the population of Africa live.
“It is clear therefore that unless we transform agriculture, Africa cannot eliminate poverty,” he insisted.
Mr Adesina said Africa has 65 per cent of the uncultivated arable land left in the world, to feed 9.5 billion people by 2050. Therefore, what Africa does with agriculture will determine the future of food in the world.
“Essentially, food is money. The size of Africa’s food and agriculture market will reach $1 trillion by 2030.”
Mr Adesina briefed the primates on the Bank’s $25 billion program to transform agriculture, by providing high-performing agricultural technologies for 40 million farmers and making Africa food self-sufficient by 2030.
Aduragbemi Omiyale 
Modupe Gbadeyanka