July 17, 2023/CSL Research

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu through his spokesperson Dele Alake, has declared an immediate state of emergency on food insecurity to tackle the increase in food prices across the nation. Food prices have been on the rise across Nigeria in recent years and has been a major driver of headline inflation increasing to 24.82% in May 2023. According to the Bill and Melinda Foundation in conjunction with UKaid report, over 65% of household income is expended on food and we believe this is substantially higher for those below the poverty line. 

The food supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic translated to an increase in price across food items in the country. Insecurity in the country, ranging from incessant attacks on farmers by herdsmen to banditry and kidnappings, further worsened the situation. The recurring incidences of flood have also been a problem. The closure of the borders also contributed its quota to the increase in food prices. Clearly, the recent subsidy removal with its pass through effect on food transport cost has worsened an already bad situation. 

The Federal Government proposes 12 key points of the intervention plan. The top six include; the immediate release of fertilizers and grains to farmers and households, increased security measures for farms and farmers so that farmers can return to farmlands without fear of attacks, enhancement of the Central Bank’s role in funding agricultural value chain, activation of 500,000 hectares of land for farming and river basins for continuous farming, creation of a national commodity board for price assessment and maintenance of strategic food reserve, creation of a synergy between the ministry of agriculture and the ministry of water resources for irrigation and all-year farming. In our view, of all these plans, tackling insecurity and assuring farmers of their safety is the most pertinent as many Nigerians have lost faith in the ability of the system to protect them