The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari has stated that food smuggling to neighbouring countries around Nigeria is affecting food supply in Nigeria as smuggling of food across the border has become rampant.
The Minister stated this during an appearance before the senate committee on banking and finance together with the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning and Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
According to the Minister, the devaluation of the naira made food produced in Nigeria become the cheapest across the West African region especially those using the CFA.
- He stated, “the challenge we have today is the undocumented export of food to our neighbouring countries. Today, the CFA is N2:20k that is to say 1000CFA is N2,200. This is something that was N400 or N500 few years ago. All four countries around us use the CFA which is hard currency.
- “Because of the devaluation of the naira, our food in terms of their own food is the cheapest around the neighbourhood. So, you find a lot of undocumented exports which is smuggling across our porous borders into these neighbouring countries”
The Minister also noted that exchange rate and transport cost aside insecurity is also responsible for the problems of food supply and cost across the country.
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- The revelation from the Minister comes as no surprise considering the volume of unofficial trade in Nigeria’s borders that has been recorded in the past. However, the Minister’s seeming opposing stance contrasts with the spirit of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCTA) and ECOWAS treaty which allows freedom of movement of goods and services not just across the West African subregion but the continent in general.
- Recall that food inflation has been at its highest in recent times at 33.9% and inflation at 28.9% for the month of December. With the removal of fuel subsidy in August and the devaluation of the naira, food prices have increased significantly resulting in pockets of protests across the country.
- The President’s initiatives and policies with respect to food security have yielded little or no returns as projections from international development organisations project hunger and heightened food insecurity across the country.
For goodness’ sake, concentrate on bolstering supply and aiding farmers in increasing production by ensuring their communities are safe and the roads for transporting their products to markets and cities across West Africa are safe and secure.
Efforts to control demand, whether through domestic rationing of agricultural products or attempts to limit food exports to the rest of West Africa, are futile and a waste of time.
Well said!