Nigeria has received its first shipment of imported brown rice in a decade from Thailand, as part of efforts to tackle soaring food prices that have strained consumers and fueled skyrocketing inflation.
This expedition, facilitated by the logistics company DUCAT, has reignited debates on the country’s food insecurity, the limits of its agricultural sector and the consequences of past government policies.
Adrian Beciri, CEO of DUCAT, noted that the expedition was part of efforts to address Nigeria’s soaring food prices and improve affordability.
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“Nigeria has worked hard to find solutions to expand and strengthen the accessibility of its food supply,” Beciri said.
This importation follows the government’s tariff moratorium on essential food crops such as rice, wheat and corn.
Nigeria’s food crisis has been made worse by a wave of economic reforms introduced by the administration of President Bola Tinubu in May 2023. Key measures including the removal of fuel subsidies, the devaluation of the naira and hikes in food tariffs electricity, triggered a surge in inflation. Food inflation, in particular, reached 41% in May 2024, the highest in 28 years, with prices continuing to rise as the value of the naira collapses.
To address these challenges, the Tinubu administration announced a 180-day customs duty exemption on the importation of essential food crops. The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, has revealed plans to introduce guidelines to ensure compliance with the measures and subject imported foods to recommended retail prices.
However, the government’s decision to resort to food imports highlights the inability of the agricultural sector to meet the country’s food demand.
Nigeria consumes around seven million tonnes of rice per year, but local production is only three million tonnes, leaving a significant deficit. Rice importation is therefore seen as a necessary stopgap to address immediate shortages while highlighting deeper systemic problems in the agricultural sector.
The consequences of closing the borders
The current food crisis and broader economic challenges can be traced back to the border closure policy implemented under former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019. This policy, aimed at curbing smuggling and boosting local production, has had consequences including disrupting legitimate trade and limiting market access. essential food products.
Economists and policymakers say border closures have exacerbated food insecurity rather than alleviating it. Senator Francis Fadaunsi, chairman of the Senate Industry Committee, recently criticized the policy during a Senate session.
“Closing the borders hampers the country’s economic situation because, instead of curbing smuggling, it encourages it,” he said.
Fadaunsi further explained the impact of this policy on rice production and trade.
“For example, for rice production alone, most of the missing four million tonnes is smuggled into the country, since local producers produce only three million tonnes out of an expected consumption rate of seven million tonnes. “, he said.
The senator also noted that the closure of Nigeria’s borders with neighboring countries like Niger and Chad has worsened insecurity in the border regions and worsened the country’s economic woes.
He added that the exit of Niger Republic and Chad from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), accompanied by the opening of their borders on the Nigerian side, has compounded these challenges.
Despite mounting evidence of the harmful effects of border closures, Bola Tinubu’s administration has resisted calls to completely reverse the policy. Senator Fadaunsi and other lawmakers have repeatedly urged the government to reconsider, arguing that reopening borders would facilitate legitimate trade, reduce smuggling and ease food shortages.
He said borders should be fully open and not technically closed.
The failure to respond to these calls has left Nigeria dependent on emergency measures such as food importation, which provide temporary relief but do little to address the structural problems at the heart of the crisis.
Although food imports can temporarily ease shortages, experts warn they are not a lasting solution. Instead, the government must address the root causes of food insecurity, including insufficient investment in agriculture, poor infrastructure and restrictive trade policies.
