Nigeria’s unfinished food security battle
As the world marks World Food Day on October 16, Nigeria’s growing challenge of feeding its population has come into sharper focus. Rising food prices, insecurity in farming communities and weaknesses in agricultural production are putting increasing pressure on households and farmers alike. This year’s theme, “Innovate today. Nourish tomorrow”, is a timely reminder that […]
Nigeria commemorated World Food Day on October 16, 2026, with the theme "Innovate Today. Nourish Tomorrow," emphasizing the need to enhance food systems for future generations. However, achieving food sufficiency in Nigeria has been hindered since 2024 due to several factors. The Federal Government introduced a 150-day duty-free import window for specific food commodities in July 2024 to address rising food inflation, but this move was met with criticism from local farmers who feared it would undermine their investments and competitive edge.
The removal of duties on wheat, beans, husked brown rice, and certain grains resulted in a loss of over N188 billion in revenue for the government. Imported grains, specifically wheat, rice, and maize, have continued to flood the market, with imports reaching 10.1 million tonnes in the 2025/2026 marketing year. This heavy reliance on imported food has led to the closure of numerous local rice mills, putting the local rice industry at risk.
Furthermore, insecurity in several states has forced farmers to abandon their farms and flee their homes, disrupting agricultural production and threatening food security. The combination of food imports, insecurity, irregularities in marketing, and frequent policy changes has posed significant challenges to Nigeria's food sufficiency efforts.
Written by urgent.news from Daily Trust's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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- Importation, insecurity threaten Nigeria’s food sufficiency dailytrust.com
