Nigeria’s food market is witnessing what the Federal Government has described as a “dramatic turnaround”, following emergency interventions ordered by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to tackle the country’s worsening food crisis.
Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, speaking on Arise News’ Day Break programme on Friday morning, declared that the government’s strategy was yielding tangible results, insisting that food prices across the nation “have crashed.”
Kyari explained that Tinubu’s bold declaration of a state of emergency on food security in July 2023 was a “clarion call” to rescue the nation from deep-rooted structural imbalances in agriculture.
> “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu came at a time when there was a huge structural default in terms of food security. That was why he had to declare an emergency—to stabilise the system and restore confidence,” Kyari said.
The minister defended the government’s twin-track approach—combining domestic production support with a temporary importation window to close the supply gap on critical staples such as rice.
> “Food availability is about supply and demand. We had a 15 percent shortfall in rice production, so importation was necessary to bridge that gap without discouraging local farmers. It was a six-month window, carefully managed, and it has since closed,” Kyari clarified.
Massive Fertiliser Rollout, Farmer Support
Kyari further revealed that alongside the import policy, the Tinubu administration rolled out far-reaching support for farmers, including a fertiliser distribution programme unprecedented in scale.
> “At the president’s directive, the Central Bank released two million bags of fertiliser free of charge to farmers through the ministry. Beyond that, we had additional schemes where fertiliser was supplied at 50 percent subsidy. This ramped up production significantly throughout 2024,” he disclosed.
The minister maintained that the combined measures—importation, fertiliser subsidies, and farmer support programmes—are now reflected in market realities.
> “I can boldly say that prices have crashed. Nigerians can already feel the relief in their kitchens and marketplaces. The interventions are not just promises—they are producing results,” Kyari declared with confidence.
Kyari’s remarks came just hours after President Tinubu gave fresh marching orders to a Federal Executive Council (FEC) committee to “crash food prices” further, through swift and coordinated measures.
For millions of Nigerians grappling with high inflation and rising cost of living, the government’s assurance may signal a rare moment of relief. Whether the downward trend in prices is sustained, however, will depend on the administration’s ability to balance production incentives with long-term structural reforms.
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