Nigeria’s agricultural import bill rose sharply to ₦2.22tn in the first half of 2025, sparking outrage from farmers, rice millers, and other stakeholders who say Federal Government policies are undermining local production and worsening food insecurity.
The backlash also follows President Bola Tinubu’s recent directive to the Federal Executive Council committee to “crash food prices” nationwide. Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Sabi Abdullahi, disclosed this in Abuja during a capacity-building workshop for Senate correspondents, saying the President had ordered safe passage of food commodities across key routes to reduce costs.
But stakeholders insist government pronouncements alone cannot override market realities.
“All our farmers are complaining that prices have dropped so much they can’t even buy fertiliser. The importation has destroyed our farmers,” said Kabir Ibrahim, National President of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN).
Rice Millers Push Back
Chairman of the Competitive African Rice Forum, Peter Dama, faulted the directive, warning it could alienate private operators. “You don’t just give an order to crash prices. At best, government should engage stakeholders, provide subsidies, and address transport bottlenecks,” he said. He warned that persistent importation without support was pushing farmers out of agriculture.
Mechanisation Delays
Farmers also raised concerns over the government’s failure to distribute the 2,000 tractors launched in July 2024. More than a year later, no modalities for allocation have been announced. An Agriculture Ministry official confirmed the list was awaiting presidential approval, stressing that distribution requires inter-ministerial coordination.
Purchasing Power Crisis
Stakeholders argue weak purchasing power remains the biggest driver of food insecurity. “Even if prices fall, people don’t have money to buy,” Ibrahim said. He also noted that warehouses and government silos are filled with unsold grains due to collapsing market demand.
Import Surge
NBS data show agricultural imports rose from ₦1.81tn in H1 2024 to ₦2.22tn in H1 2025 — a 22.6% increase. Imports jumped after the government’s 180-day duty-free window, introduced in July 2024, allowed staple foods like rice, maize, wheat, and beans into the country without tariffs. The policy ended in December 2024 but left lasting distortions.
“People rushed to import food, but Nigerians had no money to buy it,” Ibrahim explained. He noted maize prices fell from ₦60,000 to ₦30,000 per tonne, leaving farmers unable to recover input costs.
Small-Scale Women Farmers Organisation of Nigeria’s National Secretary, Chinasa Asonye, added that expired and poor-quality subsidised inputs worsened the situation. “Fertilisers and herbicides are unaffordable. Some subsidised inputs even harmed production,” she said. She also decried hoarding, noting that imported rice worth ₦48,000 per bag was unfit for consumption.
Way Forward
Experts say piecemeal interventions — whether through duty-free waivers, presidential directives, or delayed mechanisation — cannot solve Nigeria’s food crisis.
“Reducing transport costs helps, but without subsidies, infrastructure, and stakeholder engagement, we will never achieve food security,” Dama warned.
Asonye stressed that small-scale farmers, especially women, face the gravest risks: “If they can’t break even, they will abandon farming, worsening the food crisis.”
With agro-imports at ₦2.22tn in just six months, collapsing local prices, and rising hunger, stakeholders insist only comprehensive reforms — not short-term fixes — can safeguard Nigeria’s long-term food security.
ADEOLA KUNLE
