The President of the African Development Bank Group Dr Akinwumi Adesina has warned that Nigeria must not turn into a food import-dependent nation.
He said this would erode the gains of the agricultural revolution in the recent past.
He also stated that the size of the food and agriculture market in Africa will reach $1 trillion by 2030.
According to the statement, Adesina, a former Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture, spoke during a retreat by the Anglican Church in Abuja, Nigeria, on Friday.
Adesina’s comment comes on the heels of recent policy of the federal government, suspending 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.
But Adesina stated that the policy, rather than addressing the hunger problem, would worsen it.
His lecture was titled, “Food security and financial sustainability in Africa: The role of the Church.”
“Nigeria’s recently announced policy to open its borders for massive food imports, just to tackle short-term food price hikes, is depressing,” Adesina said.
He noted that the policy could undermine all the hard work and private investments that have gone into the country’s agricultural sector.
He said Nigeria must feed itself with pride, adding, “A nation that depends on others to feed itself is independent only in name.”
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