AfDB’s Adesina Critisises Tinubu’s Duty-Free Food Imports Policy

The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, has raised critical concerns over President Bola Tinubu‘s duty-free food imports directive, stating that the policy is “depressing.”

Adesina disclosed this during a retreat held at the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa in Abuja on Saturday, where he spoke about ‘Food Security and Financial Sustainability in Africa.’

According to him, Nigeria cannot rely on food imports to stabilise prices, which could destroy the country’s agricultural policy.

This was in response to last week’s announcement by the Ministry of Agriculture about its plans to allow duty-free importation of food items such as maise, rice, and wheat for 150 days as part of measures towards stabilising the prices of the items in the market.

With the announcement, Adesina recommended that the country should be producing food as it helps stabilise prices and reduce pressure on foreign exchange while creating jobs for the unemployed.

Furthermore, Dr Adesina noted that Africa constitutes nearly a third of the over 780 million hungry people worldwide, emphasising agriculture’s critical role in diversifying economies and transforming rural areas, where more than 70 per cent of Africa’s population resides. 

It is clear that Africa cannot eliminate poverty unless we transform agriculture,” he stated. 

In addition, he noted that Africa holds 65 per cent of the world’s remaining uncultivated arable land, which is crucial for feeding an estimated 9.5 billion people by 2050. Therefore, what Africa does with agriculture will determine the future of food in the world. “Essentially, food is money. The size of Africa’s food and agriculture market will reach $1 trillion by 2030,” he stated.

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Mayowa Durosinmi

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M. Durosinmi is a West Africa Weekly investigative reporter covering Politics, Human Rights, Health, and Security in West Africa and the Sahel Region

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