Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, has said that the Federal Government has outlined a strategy to increase domestic agricultural production and increase food security.
Edun, disclosed this at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday to mark the country’s 64th Independence Day.
He declared that that the era of heavy food importation must end, and insisted on driving this shift as a cornerstone of the government’s economic recovery plan.
“We should not be importing food,” Edun stated, stressing that Nigeria’s future lies in self-sufficiency.
The government, he said, was committed to maximum support for small-scale farmers by providing critical inputs like seeds and fertilizer under schemes such as the Nigerian Agricultural Growth Scheme.
Also, he noted government’s initiative will focus on enhancing both the wet and dry season harvests, reducing the need for imports in the short term while boosting productivity in the long term.
As an immediate measure, the government has ordered maize and wheat imports to stabilize the food market.
However, Edun stressed the importance of balancing this with domestic production
“It is critical that we do not disrupt domestic production of food. We mustn’t disrupt farming in Nigeria by flooding the market with imports,” he warned.
This comes as the Central Bank of Nigeria’s data showed that the country spent N903.95 billion on food imports in the first quarter of 2024 alone as inflation stood at 32.15 percent in August.