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Agriculture Minister Predicts Significant Drop in Food Prices Within 180 Days

Published by Tope Fakinlede on July 10th, 2024.

Agriculture Minister Predicts Significant Drop in Food Prices Within 180 Days

As Nigerians protest against rising food costs, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, announced on Wednesday that food prices are expected to drop significantly within the next 180 days. Kyari detailed a series of measures to be implemented on his social media handle.

Key strategies include a 150-day duty-free import window for essential food commodities such as maize, husked brown rice, wheat, and cowpeas. The government will ensure these imports meet quality standards and are sold at recommended retail prices.

The Federal Government plans to import 250,000 metric tons each of wheat and maize, which will be distributed to small-scale processors and millers nationwide. Additionally, the government will engage stakeholders to set guaranteed minimum prices and purchase surplus food to replenish the National Strategic Food Reserve.

Kyari outlined plans to boost production for the 2024/2025 farming cycle, including ongoing support for smallholder farmers, accelerating dry season farming, and enhancing agricultural mechanization to improve productivity. Efforts will also focus on identifying and cultivating irrigable lands and rehabilitating irrigation facilities in collaboration with the Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation.

Youth and women will be engaged in greenhouse cultivation of horticultural crops like tomatoes and peppers to increase production and stabilize prices. The Nigerian Military and other paramilitary organizations will be encouraged to use available arable lands for cultivation under the Defence Farms Scheme.

A newly inaugurated committee will implement policies aligned with the National Livestock Transformation Plan to prioritize livestock development. The government will also promote fortified food production and support the Home Garden Initiative led by the First Lady.

Over the next 14 days, the Ministry will collaborate with the Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit and the Economic Management Team to finalize implementation frameworks. Kyari emphasized the importance of cooperation among relevant agencies and stakeholders to address the food security challenge. He reaffirmed President Tinubu’s commitment to ensuring no Nigerian goes hungry and vowed to work diligently to achieve immediate and long-term food security.