Exactly 180 days ago, Abubakar Kyari, the Minister of Agriculture, assured Nigerians that the Federal Government would implement strategic measures to reduce food prices within six months. However, on Day 180, food prices have risen significantly, with over 30 million Nigerians projected to face acute food insecurity.
In an announcement on his X page on July 10, the minister said there was a set of strategic measures to tackle the rising food prices affecting Nigerians, one of which was the suspension of duties, tariffs and taxes for the importation of food commodities such as maize via land and sea borders.
Our administration has unveiled a series of strategic measures aimed at addressing the high food prices currently affecting our nation. These measures will be implemented over the next 180 days;1.150-Day Duty-Free Import Window for Food Commodities•Suspension of duties,… pic.twitter.com/cdhCGikzjs— Sen. Abubakar Kyari, CON (@SenatorAKyari) July 10, 2024
Other plans included importing 250,000 metric tonnes of wheat and maize and ramping up agricultural production through mechanisation and irrigation. Despite these proposed measures, however, the minister’s promise has not been fulfilled.
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Inflation Trends and Food Prices
In fact, in October, three months after the minister declared food prices would crash, Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to 33.88 per cent, primarily driven by escalating food prices, with food inflation reaching 39.16 per cent year-on-year in October, compared to 37.77 per cent in September.
In November, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that the month-on-month food inflation rate for October stood at 2.94 per cent. This reflects a 0.3 per cent increase from the 2.64 per cent recorded in September.
Higher prices of commodities such as palm oil, vegetable oil, mudfish, croaker fish, fresh fish, dried beef, goat meat, bread and other items drove this rise, said the NBS.
The NBS also revealed that the average price of 1kg of brown beans stood at N2,738.59 in September, two months after the minister’s declaration. This shows a 6.37 per cent rise in price on a month-on-month basis from N2,574.63 in August 2024. This also indicates a 281.97 per cent price increase on a year-on-year basis from N716.97 recorded in September 2023.
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The price of medium-sized Agric eggs (12 pieces) also increased by 8.64 per cent from N2,289.19 in August 2024. From September 2023 to September 2024, the price surged by a significant 137.43 per cent, rising from N1,047.47 to N2,487.04.
“There was also a notable price increase for sliced bread by 115.74 per cent yearly from N708.36 in September 2023 to N1,528.19 in September 2024. On a month-on-month basis, it increased by 4.68 per cent from N1,459.85 in August 2024,” the NBS noted.
The average price of 1kg of local rice rose by 4.57 per cent between August and September 2024. Similarly, 1kg of boneless beef saw a 1.44 per cent month-on-month increase from N5,553.80 in August 2024. On a year-on-year basis, it saw a 99.99 per cent rise from N2,816.91 to N5,633.60.
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Although the NBS has yet to release its Selected Food Prices Watch for November and December 2024, a Cadre Harmonisé report on food and nutrition insecurity in November projected that between October and December 2024, 25.1 million people likely experienced acute food insecurity even at the peak of the harvest season.
The report, led by the Federal Government with support from partners, shows that a staggering 33 million people will face acute food insecurity in Nigeria in 2025, with the number of people facing emergency levels of need projected to almost double. Many factors are responsible for this, with one of the leading causes being inflation.
“Nationally, the number of people experiencing emergency levels (Phase 4) of food insecurity is projected to increase from 1 million people in the peak of the 2024 lean season to 1.8 million people at the same period in 2025, representing a worrying 80 per cent rise,” the World Food Programme said.
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