Tinubu’s latest policy on food imports ‘pathetic’ – AfDB President Adesina

Akinwunmi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) has condemned the federal government’s decision to import food, describing it as pathetic.

Adesina’s criticism came while speaking on the topic “Food Security and Financial Sustainability in Africa,” on Saturday at the Anglican Provincial Council of Africa retreat in Abuja.

He argued that Nigeria could not continue to rely on food imports to maintain price stability and that it would undermine the country’s agricultural strategy.

He emphasized that food production must be prioritized to maintain price stability, reduce pressure on the country’s foreign exchange, and create jobs.

He said, “Nigeria’s recently announced policy of opening its borders to large-scale food imports, just to address short-term food price increases, is truly deplorable.”

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“Nigeria cannot rely on food imports to stabilize prices. Nigeria must produce more food to stabilize food prices while creating jobs and reducing foreign exchange outflows, which will further help stabilize the Naira,”

“Nigeria cannot address food insecurity by importing. Nigeria must not turn into a country that relies on food imports.”

Continuing, Dr. Adesina noted that Africa accounts for nearly a third of the more than 780 million hungry people worldwide, the African Development Bank president emphasized the critical role of agriculture in diversifying economies and transforming rural areas, where more than 70 percent of Africa’s population lives. “It is therefore clear that unless we transform agriculture, Africa cannot eradicate poverty,” he stressed.

Adesina noted that Africa has 65% of the world’s remaining uncultivated agricultural land, which is critical to feeding an estimated 9.5 billion people by 2050. Therefore, what Africa does with agriculture will determine the future of food in the world. “Food is essentially money. The size of the food and agriculture market in Africa will reach $1 trillion by 2030,” he said.

By: Babajide Okeowo

Tinubu’s latest policy on food importation ‘pathetic’ – AfDB President Adesina appeared first on Latest Nigeria News | Headlines from Ripples Nigeria.