Vanguard (Lagos)

Nigeria: Food Crisis - Food Imports Gulped $2.9bn in 2007

Omoh Gabriel

12 May 2008


Lagos — NIGERIA spent a total N348 billion ($2.9 billion) in 2007 to import various food items.

Figures obtained by Financial Vanguard from the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources showed that the country imported rice to the tune of N32.04 billion ($267 million) which accounts for 36 per cent of rice consumption in the country, while N120 billion ($1 billion) was spent on the importation of sugar.

This accounts for 99 per cent of sugar consumption in the country.

In effect, only 1 per cent of sugar consumed in the country is produced locally. Ninety-nine per cent of wheat used for bread flour in the country was imported.

This costs N123 billion ($1.03 billion) while a total N60 billion ($500 million) was spent to import fish. The implication is that 66 per cent of fish consumed in the country were imported.

Making a presentation to the National Economic Council in Abuja last Tuesday, Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources, Alhaji Abba Sayyadi Ruma, said it was better for the country to spend the huge amount in improving agricultural production in the country than spending it on importation year in year out.

The present ugly situation in the country, he said, would be reversed if government undertook the implementation of public-private partnership initiatives of the ministry, which he listed as:

Agricultural Land Mapping programme:

The minister then sought the approval of the council for the commencement of the process for providing legal, administrative and governance framework for implementation of the aforementioned initiative.

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