• He explained that what the the government needs to do to check food inflation is to tackle challenges mitigating against large-scale food production and invest massively in the agriculture value chain

The president of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, has warned the Nigerian government against turning the country into a food import-dependent nation.

The former minister of agriculture said this while reacting to Nigeria’s government plan to allow massive import of staple food to crash prices and stem galloping food inflation.

It would be recalled that Abubakar Kyari, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security last week announced plans for a 150-day Duty-Free Import Window for food commodities including maize, wheat, rice and other staple foods.

Speaking on the move, Adesina said she Federal Government move to import food will put more pressure on Nigeria’s already struggling economy and destroy the nation’s agriculture.

He made this known while addressing African Primates of the Anglican Church at a Retreat in Abuja, Nigeria at the Weekend.

He explained that what the the government needs to do to check food inflation is to tackle challenges mitigating against large-scale food production and invest massively in the agricultural value chain.

According to him, instead of the import-drive, the Nigerian government should focus on producing more food to stabilize food prices which will create jobs, reduce foreign exchange spending and stabilize the Naira against the dollar.

He said, “Nigeria cannot rely on the importation of food to stabilize prices. Nigeria should be producing more food to stabilize food prices while creating jobs and reducing foreign exchange spending, which will further help stabilize the Naira.

“Nigeria cannot import its way out of food insecurity,” he said, “Nigeria must not be turned into a food import-dependent nation.”

The development comes as Nigeria’s headline and food inflation increased to 33.69 percent and 40.66 percent respectively