THE latest data on food economy in Nigeria shows that the country spends over $10bn on food imports annually from Europe, North America and South East Asia. The food items include wheat, rice, fish, palm oil, cocoa powder, margarine and tomato paste, according to the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Mr. Abubakar Kyari, who spoke in Lagos recently at the First Bank of Nigeria Agric and Export event. But he was quick to point out that the nation’s earning from agricultural export was less than $400m.
According to the data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released about the same period, the country’s food import bill jumped 33 percent in one year. It said food import rose to N1.18trillion in the second quarter of 2025, up from N893.25billion during the same period in 2024. The second quarter (Q2) is April to June. In Q1, that is January to March, food import was N1.04 trillion. The NBS disclosed that of the country’s net imports valued at N15.28trillion as at Q2 2025, food import accounted for eight percent.
On the contrary, said the NBS, the country exported desiccated (dried) coconut to the tune of N25.65billion, cassava starch valued at N1.01billion and peas worth N431billion. There are other food exports but the total value of their export pales into insignificance compared to our food imports.
From the above statistics, it’s quite obvious the country is still struggling with achieving self-sufficiency in food production. It may take decades more for food sovereignty to be achieved in Nigeria.
We recall that during the administrations of former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, modest progress was made in making the country self-sufficient in food production. This was evident, for instance, in the low cost of food across board. With just N8,000 to N10,000 one could buy a 50kg bag of rice during that era, a commodity which costs about N60,000 today. Then one cup of the product was sold for N50, which currently sells for between N250 and N400 depending on the quality. Other food commodities were easy to access.
Unfortunately, the narrative changed almost automatically when Mohammadu Buhari assumed the presidency. Prices of all food items rose sharply. He allowed the wave of insecurity, which the Jonathan regime was successfully managing, to escalate crippling food production nationwide. Bandits, insurgents and Fulani herdsmen invaded farms and chased away farmers all over the country.
The state of insecurity was worse in the Northern parts of the country reputed for food production: livestock, rice, yam, beans, etc. Herdsmen held sway in the North Central, spreading their evil tentacles to the Southern geopolitical zones; insurgents took charge of the North East; and bandits ravaged the North West. These were dangerously armed criminal groups that defied statutory security operatives, including the military, and even “reigned” over some parts of the nation under Buhari.
In effect, insecurity challenges almost annihilated food production in the country, forcing government to embark on massive food importation. At some point gari and yam were being imported from our West African neighbours. Policy initiatives by the Buhari administration to address the escalating food insecurity met with little success.
There was also the issue of crass corruption in the management of food production. Unpatriotic political leaders and public servants cashed in on the perceived failures to enrich themselves. These are factors that in the eight years of Buhari government eroded efforts to enhance food production. This is what President Bola Tinubu inherited. Under his Renewed Hope Agenda, he seems determined to prioritize food production to make the country less dependent on food imports.
To achieve the above, he must as a matter of necessity rescue Nigeria from the forces of insecurity and corruption that had held the country hostage for over a decade. We have had enough of rhetoric, fine oratories, and well-crafted speeches on agriculture and food production. It is now time to walk the talk; translate the presentations to strategic, tangible actions. It is time to truly establish the country’s sovereignty in food production.
The templates for massive food production, in our opinion, are available at the national and sub national levels of government. With extensive, arable and fertile land from the coast to the desert belt, Nigeria should be in a position not only to feed her citizens abundantly, but have surplus to export and earn substantial revenue close to earnings in oil. President Tinubu, we believe, has the capacity to get the job done.
