Nigeria's President Tinubu declares state of emergency over food

Abuja. President Bola Tinubu has ordered immediate action to curb rising food prices and ensure sustainable food security, a measure he described as a 'food emergency'.

The President has also announced the distribution of N8,000 ($10) monthly to 12 million of the most vulnerable Nigerians for the next six months when the food programme would have provided the necessary assistance.

Dele Alake, the Presidential Adviser on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy, said on July 13, 2023 that Tinubu's interventions were meant to have an immediate impact on the most vulnerable Nigerians.

"As a hands-on leader who follows developments across the country on a daily basis, Mr President is not unmindful of the rising cost of food and its impact on citizens. While availability is not an issue, affordability is a major concern for many Nigerians in all parts of the country,” Alake said.

"This has led to a significant drop in demand, thereby undermining the viability of the entire agricultural and food value chain."

To curb the trend, the president announced the declaration of a state of emergency on food security, among other measures.

He said all matters relating to the availability and affordability of food and water were now under the purview of the National Security Council.

The President said further initiatives would be taken in the coming weeks to reverse the inflationary trend and ensure an uninterrupted supply of affordable food to ordinary Nigerians in the future.

"As with most emergencies, there are immediate, medium and long-term interventions and solutions. In the immediate term, we intend to channel some of the savings from the removal of fuel subsidy into the agricultural sector with a focus on revamping the agricultural sector," he said a Memorandum of Partnership between the government and agricultural stakeholders had been drafted, outlining decisions taken and proposed actions.

"We will immediately release fertiliser and grain to farmers and households to alleviate the shortage.

"There is an urgent need for synergy between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Water Resources to ensure adequate irrigation of farmlands and ensure that food is produced all year round."

He said the country could no longer rely on seasonal agriculture for affordable food.

"We will establish and support a National Commodity Board that will review and continuously assess food prices and maintain a strategic food reserve that will be used as a price stabilisation mechanism for critical grains and other food items.

"Through this board, the government will mitigate spikes and dips in food prices."

The President added that to achieve these objectives, stakeholders have been identified to support the interventions.

The stakeholders include the National Commodity Exchange, seed companies, the National Seed Council and Research Institutes, and NIRSAL Microfinance Bank.

Others are food processing and agro-processing associations, private sector owners and prime anchors, smallholder farmers, crop associations and associations of fertiliser producers, blenders and suppliers.

"In furtherance of this, the Federal Government would engage the security architecture to protect farms and farmers so that farmers can return to the farmlands without fear of attack.

"The Central Bank will continue to play an important role in financing the agricultural value chain."

Tinubu said the government would activate its land banks to enable more Nigerians return to farming.

"There are currently 500,000 hectares of already mapped land that will be used to increase the availability of arable land for farming, which will have an immediate impact on food production."

He added: "The government will also work with mechanisation companies to clear more forests and make them available for farming.

"There are currently 11 river basins that will ensure the planting of crops during the dry season with irrigation systems that will ensure continuous agricultural production throughout the year to curb the seasonal glut and scarcity that we usually experience.

"We will provide concessionary capital/funds to the sector, especially for fertiliser, processing, mechanisation, seeds, chemicals, equipment, feed, labour, etc.

"The concessionary funds will ensure that food is always available and affordable, thereby having a direct impact on Nigeria's Human Capital Index (HCI).

"This administration is focused on ensuring that the HCI figure, which is currently the third lowest in the world, is improved to enhance productivity."

The President further said that the government would explore other means of transportation, including rail and water transport, to reduce freight costs, thereby impacting on food prices.

"The cost of transporting agricultural produce has been a major challenge due to permits, tollgates and other associated costs.

"If the cost of transporting agricultural products is significantly affected, it will be immediately passed on to consumers, which will affect the price of food."

He added that existing warehouses and tanks would be revamped to reduce wastage and ensure efficient preservation of food.

Tinubu also promised to increase revenue from food and agricultural exports.

"While ensuring that there is sufficient and affordable food for the people, we will simultaneously work to boost the export capacity of the agricultural sector."

He said to improve trade facilitation, transportation, storage and export would be improved through collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service.

According to him, the Customs Service has assured the government that the bottlenecks experienced in the export and import of food items as well as intra-city transportation will be addressed through tolling.

The President stressed that the measures would yield positive results through massive employment and job creation.

"In fact, agriculture already accounts for about 35.21 per cent of employment in Nigeria (as at 2021), the target is to double this percentage to about 70 per cent in the long run."He said this was in line with his pledge to create jobs, as the initiative is expected to create between five and 10 million more jobs within the value chain.The jobs, he said, would be created by working the current 500,000 hectares of farmland and the several hundred thousand more hectares of farmland to be developed in the medium term.The President therefore called on all Nigerians to partner with the government to ensure the success of the strategic intervention."This administration is working assiduously to ensure that Nigerians do not struggle to meet their basic needs," he added.Tinubu assured Nigerians that the administration would not relent in its efforts "until all strategic interventions are efficiently and effectively deployed and until every household is positively impacted". 

The president's action comes amid escalating food prices following the removal of fuel subsidy on 29 May 2023, as well as low production caused by insecurity in the north, the nation's food basket.The situation has reached deplorable levels in a country where, according to the World Bank, more than a quarter of Nigerians live on less than a dollar a day.President Tinubu has also announced an immediate palliative of N8,000 (less than $10) a month for 12 million of the most vulnerable people across the country.He has secured the approval of the National Assembly to spend N500 billion for this purpose.