Factors Responsible For High Cost Of Food In Nigeria

 Rising food prices causes and consequences

In the last few years, food costs have increased, often by over 200 percent, for goods like rice, bread, and cattle.

According to an official, the COVID-19 epidemic, insecurity, and the Russia-Ukraine war are only a few of the factors contributing to the rise in food costs in Nigeria.

However, the government was "working hard" to reduce the growing prices of food goods, according to Mahmood Abubakar, the minister of agriculture and rural development, who made this statement in Abuja.

At the week ministerial briefing hosted by the Presidential Communications Team on Thursday at the White House, Mr. Abubakar gave a speech.

In the last few years, the cost of food has skyrocketed, often by over 200 percent, for products like rice, bread, and cattle.

However, the minister claimed that COVID-19's development and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine are aggravating the rise in food costs, which is not unique to Nigeria.

"When COVID arrived, it had a significant impact on a variety of factors, including food production, and the aftereffect of that is what we are currently dealing with and will lag for some time until it is stabilized," he said.

He stated that he thinks "we are still working on it" and that "the price of rice has reduced a little bit."

"The world is currently suffering from COVID and coping with the effects of the war in Ukraine and Russia, but things will stabilize and the ministry of agriculture is doing all necessary to handle the issue; we are not capitulating, so that the prices will come down more quickly."

Speaking about the impact of the country's widespread insecurity on food prices, the minister claimed that certain farmers, particularly those in the north-west and north-central regions, have been prevented from visiting their farms due to attacks by herders and terrorists.

Food "production has not reduced to any major amount," he claimed, in spite of the security situation.

That is one of the causes we have a plan for security guards called agro-rangers, who are supplying some security protocols so that the farmers may visit their land.

According to Mr. Abubakar, Nigeria's ambition to eradicate hunger by 2025 is still on track.

We are, of course, on schedule. Who wouldn't want to put an end to hunger? he posed.

Imported fish

Samson Umoh, a different agriculture ministry representative, also discussed Nigerian fish imports.

Nigeria continues to allow fish imports for two key reasons, according to Mr. Umoh, head of Fisheries and Aquaculture in the Ministry of Agriculture. One is that demand cannot be met locally, and the other is that some fish species are not available locally.

According to the population of Nigeria, the overall fish demand for the nation is currently around 3.6 million metric tons, whereas the total fish production is only about 1.2 million metric tons, the official added.

We involve women, young people, and all other sectors to increase fish production because there is a need to be addressed.

In addition to the government's intervention, there are some species that are not found or are not farmed in Nigerian seas, like stockfish and mackerel. As a result, we must import them because they are not readily available in Nigeria, he said.

According to Mr. Umoh, President Muhammadu Buhari's dedication to agriculture has led to a significant increase in the agricultural sector's contribution to Nigeria's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the wake of the decline in the price of oil globally.