The President of the African Development Bank Group, Akinwumi Adesina, has warned that Nigeria’s decision to allow massive food imports could have devastating consequences for the country’s agricultural sector. This comes after the Nigerian Minister of Agriculture, Abubakar Kyari, announced on July 10 that the federal government would suspend customs duties and taxes on imports of maize, husked brown rice, wheat and cowpea for 150 days.
“Nigeria’s recently announced policy of opening its borders to massive food imports, just to cope with the short-term rise in food prices, is depressing,” Adesina told African primates of the Anglican Church at a retreat in Abuja, Nigeria. He stressed that the policy could jeopardize the considerable investments and efforts made in Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
“Nigeria cannot rely on food imports to stabilize prices. It must produce more food to stabilize prices, while creating jobs and reducing foreign exchange expenditures, which will help stabilize the naira,” the African Development Bank President said. “Nigeria cannot import its way out of food insecurity,” he added. “Nigeria must not become a country dependent on food imports.”
Speaking on the theme, “Food Security and Financial Sustainability in Africa: The Role of the Church,” Adesina stressed that Nigeria “must feed itself with pride,” warning that a nation dependent on others for food is independent in name only.
Faith and Food Security
The retreat, held in Abuja, brought together clergy from the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA), representing over 40 million Anglicans across the continent. His Grace, the Most Reverend Henry C. Ndukuba, Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), highlighted the gathering as an opportunity for African Anglican leaders to deepen their connections and share their collective wisdom.
Professor Emeritus Olugbemiro Jegede told Adesina: “The whole of Africa is represented here. Each primate represents a region. Behind these primates are millions and millions of Anglicans who are listening to us here.”
Noting that nearly a third of the world’s 780 million hungry people live in Africa, Adesina stressed the importance of agriculture for economic diversification and rural transformation. “If we don’t transform agriculture, Africa will not be able to eradicate poverty,” he insisted.
Transformative progress
Akinwumi Adesina briefed the primates on the Bank’s $25 billion program to transform agriculture by providing efficient agricultural technologies to 40 million farmers, with the aim of making Africa food self-sufficient by 2030. He shared the Bank’s successes in mitigating the effects of climate change through financial investments and its Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) program.
The TAAT program helped Ethiopia become a net wheat exporter within five years, significantly increased Sudan’s wheat production, and supported countries in East and Southern Africa during prolonged droughts.
For Nigeria, Adesina highlighted the collaboration with the Islamic Development Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, which provided $520 million to establish special agricultural processing zones for value-added agricultural industries. The Bank also provided $134 million to Nigeria for emergency food production, boosting local production of wheat and cassava.
Adesina urged the Nigerian government to leverage the Bank’s investments and support for African farmers by demonstrating greater commitment to food self-sufficiency and encouraging private sector agribusinesses.
Collaboration and solutions
The African Development Bank Group and its partners are supporting the development of 28 special agro-industrial processing zones in 11 countries, with $4.5 billion mobilized to date.
Speaking on behalf of the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa and the Bishop of Northern Zambia, Most Reverend Albert Chama, Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Kenya, Most Reverend Jackson Ole Sapit, called for greater cooperation between the Bank Group and the Anglican Church. “The African spirit must be at the centre of solving African problems,” he said. “If the African Development Bank mobilizes resources for the African continent and the Church also mobilizes resources for holistic transformation, we can achieve a lot by working together – and make a difference.”
Offering solutions for agriculture in Africa, Adesina called for the emergence of “visionary and passionate leaders, strategic solution providers and change makers.” He advocated for public policies to end hunger and malnutrition, church-led food banks, investment in commercial farms, climate change advocacy, encouraging young agricultural entrepreneurs and greater fiscal accountability by governments.
