Nigeria’s rising import bill has become an issue of major concern to stakeholders and other players in the agric sector.
The country recorded the highest imports of agricultural goods in 2021 as produce valued at N2.7t was imported. Though it dropped in 2022, when N1.9t worth of food imports transactions were conducted, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), experts say the development signals danger to the economy, as the country has the potential to upturn what they tagged as trade imbalance.
Data obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revealed that the country’s total agricultural imports from 2018 to 2022 amounted to N6.916t, while total agricultural exports within the period was N1.997t, resulting in an agricultural trade deficit of N4.919t.
One of the outcomes of this scenario is the revelation that the sector contributed less to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country in Q1 2023, compared to the same period last year. The sector showed a decline of 0.9 per cent after years of positive growth, unlike in previous year when the sector was the largest contributor to the country’s GDP in Q2 at 23.3 per cent.
This impasse has been largely linked to farm insecurity in the form of banditry and herders-farmers clashes; natural disasters, limited access to credits, cattle rustling, kidnapping; poor execution of government interventions and policies.
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Another big challenge is late release of fund to the sector, which many say has largely contributed to impeding the capacity of Federal and state governments to drive socio-economic development, including food and nutrition security within the policy thrust of the diversification of the economy towards agriculture.
The Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI), Ilorin, Kwara State, Dr. Olufemi Oladunni, said the implication of the development is job loss.
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