Nigeria’s agricultural import bill soared to N2.22tn in the first half of 2025, drawing strong criticism from farmers, rice millers, and stakeholders who argue that the Federal Government’s policies are undermining local production and worsening food insecurity.
The stakeholders also criticised the recent order by President Bola Tinubu to reduce food prices. On 11 September 2025, it was reported that President Tinubu ordered a Federal Executive Council committee to further crash the prices of food items across the country.
The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Sabi Abdullahi, stated this in Abuja, while presenting a paper at a one-day capacity-building workshop for journalists covering the Senate. He said the President’s order would be enforced to further crash prices of food items by ensuring the safe passage of products through various routes across the country.
‘I can say it on good authority to you that the President has given a matching order to a Federal Executive Council committee already handling it. On how we are going to promote the safe passage of agricultural foods and commodities across our various routes in the country.
‘We are aware, and I’m sure, as media, you are also aware, there are routes through which commodities are taken before they are delivered. If you know the amount of money that is being spent, you can now understand why those commodities have to be expensive at the point of delivery. So, we are working very hard, and we are doing quite a lot. But I’ve just given you a snippet because I’m here, and I felt we should look at that’, Abdullahi had stated.
But this Presidential directive has sparked criticism from farmers and rice millers, who argue that mere pronouncements cannot override market forces or compensate for poor planning.
‘The cost of food will go down if transport costs go down, but that alone is not enough’, the National President of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Kabir Ibrahim, explained. ‘Our farmers are complaining that the prices are so low that they cannot buy fertiliser. The importation has dealt with our farmers’.
Rice millers push back
Chairman of the Competitive African Rice Forum, Peter Dama, faulted the government’s approach, saying it risks alienating private operators and discouraging investment. ‘The President is dealing with private organisations and companies. You don’t just come out and give an order to crash prices. It doesn’t work that way’, he told The PUNCH.
‘At best, the government should have called stakeholders in the transport and agric sectors, discussed with them, and provided subsidies.
Pronouncements without engagement will not work’.
Dama warned that persistent importation and lack of subsidies were forcing many farmers to abandon agriculture. ‘If you don’t provide inputs and only make pronouncements, farmers will quit. We are not in an autocratic government. Stakeholders must be carried along’.
Tractors still undistributed
Beyond importation and price directives, stakeholders also pointed to delays in mechanisation efforts. In July 2024, the government launched 2,000 tractors to support farmers, but more than a year later, none have been distributed.
Ibrahim said farmers were growing impatient. ‘The tractors have not been distributed yet. They were launched in July, but up to now, no modalities have been given. We need them to support human labour with machine power’.
An official in the Ministry of Agriculture, who asked not to be named due to the lack of authorisation to speak on the matter, confirmed that modalities for distribution were awaiting presidential approval.
‘We are waiting for the presidency. The minister has submitted a distribution list for approval. We expect to flag it off soon. But people must understand that such directives take time because they involve trade, finance, customs, and investment ministries. A technical committee will be set up to address stakeholders’ concerns’.
Purchasing power concern
While the government insists that food price crashes will take time, stakeholders maintain that weak purchasing power remains the biggest obstacle.
Ibrahim stressed, ‘What we are telling the government is that it is the purchasing power of the Naira that is causing problems. Even if food prices fall, people don’t have the money to buy. That’s why you are not seeing any impact’.
His view was echoed by other stakeholders, who warned that without urgent subsidies for inputs and stronger consumer purchasing power, Nigeria risks deepening its food insecurity.
N2.22 trillion agric imports
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that agricultural imports stood at N1.04 trillion in the first quarter of 2025, before climbing to N1.18 trillion in the second quarter. The second quarter figure represented a 32.6 per cent year-on-year increase from N893.25 billion recorded in Q2 2024, and a 14.35 per cent rise from Q1 2025.
Comparatively, the value of agricultural imports in the first half of 2024 was N1.81 trillion, indicating a 22.65 per cent rise within one year. Despite this surge, food prices remain high, and farmers say government interventions have created distortions that leave both producers and consumers worse off.
The sharp rise in imports followed the Federal Government’s introduction of a 180-day duty-free window in July 2024, which allowed licensed millers and firms with backward integration programmes to import staple foods such as maize, husked brown rice, wheat, beans, and millet without paying duties, tariffs, or related taxes.
The policy, designed by President Bola Tinubu’s administration as a stopgap measure against worsening food inflation, ended in December 2024. While the government said it aimed to crash food prices, stakeholders insist the initiative failed to deliver relief.
AFAN president, Ibrahim, argued that the waiver policy only triggered massive importation without addressing Nigerians’ weakened purchasing power. ‘There must be a rise in imports because there was a 180-day duty-free window. People rushed to import food, but Nigerians have no money to buy it. Even though prices are going down, purchasing power is low, and that is the reality’, Ibrahim said.
According to him, the unsold food glut now affects both government silos and private warehouses. ‘Government itself is left with food in silos. They bought rice and paddies, but are they selling? Unless we fix systemic issues in customs, transport, and governance, we cannot get results’.
The fallout from duty-free importation has hit local farmers hard. Ibrahim noted that maize, which once sold for about N60,000 per tonne before the duty-free policy, now goes for about N30,000, leaving farmers unable to recover input costs. ‘Our farmers are not happy; they are not even back to their farms now because maize prices have collapsed. They cannot buy fertiliser, and the effect is adverse’, he said.
National Secretary of the Small-Scale Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria, Chinasa Asonye, highlighted how high input costs and poor-quality subsidised products have crippled production. ‘Fertilisers and herbicides have become unaffordable. Some of the subsidised inputs distributed were expired and caused more harm than good. Government must subsidise inputs so farmers can produce at a reasonable cost’, Asonye said.
She warned that hoarding by traders and government agencies worsened the food crisis. ‘Some people stored grains in silos expecting to sell when prices rise, but the reverse happened. Grains bought at N140 per kg now sell for N70, and many are running at a loss. Worse still, some imported rice sold at N48,000 has weevils and is not even edible’,
Way forward
Stakeholders agreed that piecemeal interventions—whether through duty-free waivers, directives to crash food prices, or delayed tractor distribution—cannot sustainably address Nigeria’s food crisis.
Dama cautioned, ‘Yes, reducing transport costs will bring some relief. But the government must also engage rice millers, farmers, and private investors. Import licences should not replace real investment in local production. If we continue like this, we will never be food-secure’.
Asonye added that small-scale farmers, especially women, face the greatest risks. ‘If farmers cannot break even, they will abandon production or resort to strike actions. That will deepen the food crisis’.
With agricultural imports climbing to N2.22 trillion in just six months and local farmers struggling with input costs, storage challenges, and poor purchasing power, the outlook for Nigeria’s food sector remains fragile.
The government maintains that its food price crash directive, mechanisation push, and import substitution efforts will eventually ease the burden on citizens. But for farmers and millers, patience is running thin.
Unless subsidies, infrastructure support, and stakeholder consultations become central to government policy, experts warn that Nigeria’s reliance on imports will continue to rise—at the expense of local production and long-term food security.
