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Cabinet officials

Prices of Foodstuffs Crash Under President Tinubu's Administration

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Nigeria's Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, has announced a significant reduction in food prices, attributing the trend to the administration's strategy of combining production support with temporary importation to address structural imbalances in the agricultural sector. The minister stated that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's declaration of a state of emergency on food security in July 2023 was a "clarion call" to rescue the sector. Kyari emphasized the importance of entrepreneurial availability, supply, and demand in addressing food security issues, noting that Nigeria's availability and demand were not in balance, leading to the government's intervention to ramp up production and import to make up the difference.

Key Takeaways:

  • Prices of foodstuffs have crashed under President Tinubu's administration, according to Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari.
  • The administration's strategy of combining production support with temporary importation was implemented to address structural imbalances in the agricultural sector.
  • President Tinubu declared a state of emergency on food security in July 2023, describing it as a "clarion call" to rescue the sector.
  • The government introduced a six-month temporary importation window, which has come and gone, aimed at stabilizing prices without discouraging local farmers.
  • Large-scale fertilizer distribution was rolled out alongside imports, with the Central Bank releasing 2 million bags of fertilizer at zero cost.
  • Interventions have already begun to impact the market positively, with prices having crashed.
  • The government is working to continue supporting farmers with fertilizers at 50% to boost production.

Statistics:

  • Nigeria has a 15% gap in rice production and supply.
  • The government released 2 million bags of fertilizer at zero cost to support farmers.
  • The temporary importation window was opened for six months to stabilize food prices.
  • President Tinubu declared a state of emergency on food security in July 2023.
  • Prices of foodstuffs have crashed under President Tinubu's administration.

Sources:

  • Arise Television programme, 'Day Break', as spoken by Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari.
  • Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting where President Tinubu ordered measures to crash food prices.

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