Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group, has expressed concerns over Nigeria’s government decision to permit massive food importation, warning that it could harm the country’s agriculture sector.
This warning comes after Nigeria’s Minister for Agriculture, Abubakar Kyari, announced on July 10 that the Federal Government would suspend duties, tariffs, and taxes on the importation of maize, husked brown rice, wheat, and cowpeas through the country’s land and sea borders for 150 days.
“Nigeria’s recently announced policy to open its borders for massive food imports, just to tackle short-term food price hikes, is depressing,” Adesina stated during a retreat for African Primates of the Anglican Church in Abuja, Nigeria, on Friday.
He emphasized that the policy could undermine the substantial efforts and private investments made in Nigeria’s agriculture sector. Adesina stressed that Nigeria should focus on increasing domestic food production to stabilize prices, create jobs, and reduce foreign exchange spending to help stabilize the Naira.
“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, that will further help stabilize the Naira,” said Adesina.
Adesina also warned against making Nigeria a food import-dependent nation, advocating for self-sufficiency in food production as a matter of national pride and independence.
Addressing the theme ‘Food security and financial sustainability in Africa: The role of the Church,’ Adesina highlighted that a nation dependent on others for food is independent in name only. The event, attended by clergy from the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA), represented over 40 million Anglicans across the continent.
In his opening remarks, His Grace the Most Reverend Henry C. Ndukuba, Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), highlighted the unique opportunity for African Anglican leaders to deepen bonds of friendship, collaboration, and share collective wisdom and experiences.
Olugbemiro Jegede, Emeritus Nigerian Professor of Science Education and chairperson of the event, noted the presence of representatives from across Africa and emphasized the importance of their collective influence.
Adesina pointed out that Africa accounts for nearly a third of the world’s 780 million people who are hungry. He stressed that agriculture is critical for diversifying economies and transforming rural areas, where over 70 percent of Africa’s population lives. He asserted that transforming agriculture is essential for eliminating poverty in Africa.
Adesina noted that Africa has 65 percent of the world’s remaining uncultivated arable land, crucial for feeding 9.5 billion people by 2050. He projected that Africa’s food and agriculture market would reach $1 trillion by 2030.
He also briefed the Primates on the Bank’s $25 billion program aimed at transforming agriculture, which includes providing high-performing agricultural technologies to 40 million farmers and making Africa food self-sufficient by 2030. The program has had successes, such as helping Ethiopia become a net exporter of wheat within five years and increasing wheat production in Sudan.
In Nigeria, Adesina highlighted the Bank’s collaboration with the Islamic Development Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, providing $520 million to establish Special Agricultural Processing Zones and $134 million for emergency food production to curb food price inflation.
Adesina urged the Nigerian government to leverage the Bank’s investments and support for African farmers, show greater determination to achieve food self-sufficiency, and incentivize private sector agribusinesses.
To support Africa’s ambitions in the global agricultural value chains, the African Development Bank Group and its partners are developing 28 Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZs) in 11 countries, with $4.5 billion mobilized so far.
On behalf of the Chairman of the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa and Bishop of Northern Zambia, the Most Reverend Albert Chama, the Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Kenya, the Most Reverend Dr. Jackson Ole Sapit, called for greater cooperation between the Bank Group and the Anglican Church.
Ole Sapit emphasized that solving African problems requires an African-centered approach, advocating for collaboration between the African Development Bank and the Church to mobilize resources for holistic transformation.
Adesina proposed public advocacy for robust government policies to end hunger and malnutrition, church-led food banks, social protection programs for the poor and needy, investment in commercial farms, advocacy on climate change issues, support for young agricultural entrepreneurs, and greater financial accountability from governments as key solutions for agriculture in Africa.
