Despite continuous Governmental efforts to Bolster Food Production in Nigeria via numerous Intervention programs, the Nation experienced a Substantial Food Trade deficit totaling N4.92 trillion between 2018 and 2022.
Data highlights that Nigeria’s Domestic Food output has been Insufficient to Cater to its Population, thus necessitating Significant Food Imports.
Consequently, due to the escalating Insecurity prevalent in the Country, particularly in its Agricultural regions, numerous Farmers have been Compelled to abandon their Fields.
This scenario has Compelled the Government to Allocate substantial Funds towards Annual Food Imports, a Factor that has further contributed to this Situation.
Information gleaned from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) demonstrates that the cumulative Value of Agricultural Imports into Nigeria during the 2018-2022 period amounted to N6.916 trillion.
In contrast, the Nation’s Agricultural Exports during the same timeframe totaled N1.997 trillion.
Consequently, an Agricultural Trade deficit of N4.919 trillion was recorded.
The Data also Indicates a consistent rise in Agricultural Imports within the specified period: N857 billion in 2018, N959 billion in 2019, N1.2 trillion in 2020, N2 trillion in 2021, and a slightly lower N1.9 trillion in 2022.
However, parallel to this, Agricultural Exports from the Country were noted as N302 billion in 2018, N270 billion in 2019, N322 billion in 2020, N505 billion in 2021, and N598 billion in 2022.
This Trajectory reflects an Escalation of 98 percent from 2018 to 2022.
Several experts attribute this rise in Exports not to Increased output but rather to the Government’s robust Non-oil Export promotion Initiatives.
This trend, they suggest, might negatively Impact the Nation’s Food Security prospects.
Additionally, a related report by the NBS Suggests that the decline in Domestic Food production cannot be solely attributed to Insecurity.
The report indicates that Prices for Essential Farming Inputs such as seeds, herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers, and agricultural machinery have Surged during this period.
Consequently, this Inflationary pressure has hindered Farmers’ ability to expand Production, compelling many to Curtail their output.
Despite various Intervention Initiatives by Federal Agencies, these measures have Seemingly yielded Limited Impact on ameliorating the situation.
