The Organised Private Sector (OPS) has expressed worry over the new policy of the federal government to import food commodities, saying the move will worsen the already depreciating naira and further cause foreign exchange squeeze.
The minister of agriculture and food security, Abubakar Kyari, recently announced a 150-day duty-free import window last week for commodities such as maize, husked brown rice, wheat and cowpeas, as part of the implementation of the newly launched Presidential Accelerated Stabilisation and Advancement Plan.
This initiative aims to increase food supply and replenish the government’s strategic grain reserve. The minister confirmed that the government hopes to reduce food prices in the second half of the year.
Reacting, the OPS noted that despite the good intent of the policy, importation will further affect the country’s balance of payment because more import with less export means more problems for the economy.
The sector urged the government to take a more holistic approach to address the present food crisis ravaging the nation as a one way approach will not achieve the desired result.
The members of the organised sector therefore asked the government to solve the security situation especially in the agro states of the nation like Benue Kaduna, Zamfara and to arrest the crisis to boost food production.
President of the African Development Bank, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina had said Nigeria cannot import its way out of food insecurity.
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.
“Nigeria cannot import its way out of food insecurity, Nigeria must not be turned into a food import-dependent nation. Nigeria must feed itself with pride,” warning, “a nation that depends on others to feed itself, is independent only in name,” he said.
In his comment, Frank Onyebu, ex chair, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), applauded the measure pointing out that the measures taken to tame food inflation is not enough as government must do its utmost to urgently address the rising cost of all basic goods.
“We cannot be attempting to bring down the cost of a few basic items while letting the cost of the majority of other basic items soar. The government should address the root causes of the challenges in the agricultural sector.
“Government must address the problems of insecurity. It must also engage manufacturers to find ways of bringing down the cost of manufactured goods. The government must enact deliberate measures to address the many concerns of manufacturers, including the recent increase of electricity tariff,” he said.
Chairman, SMEs Group of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Daniel Dickson-Okezie, noted that the major issue is to frontally address the issue of insecurity.
He maintained that insecurity across the agrarian belt remain a significant catalyst to the prevailing food crisis.
“When it comes to business, except in extra ordinary situations, government allows the forces of demand and supply to determine the market, but the situation in Nigeria called for this intervention. So this intervention should be holistic in the sense that government should intensify efforts at solving the security issue in Nigeria and much will be achieved for the good of the economy.
“The window is a good measure. Government is showing signs that it’s aware of the sufferings of Nigerians. For the three states that are criminally challenged, if only government can intensify security efforts in these states and allow farmers go back to farm, it will go a long way in solving the food crisis,” he said.
Dickson-Okezie also noted that the place of middle men in the value chain is an issue to contend with, saying, “Another major reason for high cost of food item in Nigeria is the problem of transportation. The hike in the price of fuel to over N700 is an issue.
“The major thing is to address the issue of insecurity. Those food baskets of the nation; Benue, Kaduna, Zamfara, are major agro states that can feed Nigeria, but they have been occupied by bandits and criminals, as such farmers can no longer go to farms.
“The government has to address the issue of insecurity then food security will be taken care of both in the interim and in the long run. The new policy might not make any difference because there are other factors that need to be considered.
“It might not be easy for government to achieve its purpose by just granting the window. The measure will affect framers adversely. The prices of imported goods will affect their products and chase the farmers out of business. The long term effect is that the agric we want to promote will go down.
“Now, more people will import, which will affect the forex and naira will nose dive further. It will affect our balance of payment, because the less we export, the more problem we have. Exportation improves our forex position.”
The Sun
