The Digest:
Nigeria's Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, has revealed that the country spends $10 billion annually on importing food, including wheat, rice, and fish. Kyari stressed the importance of financing agriculture to boost local food production and exports.
Key Points:
- Nigeria spends over $10 billion annually on food imports such as wheat, rice, fish, and tomato paste.
- Despite agriculture contributing 35% of Nigeria’s GDP and employing 35% of the workforce, the country accounts for less than 0.5% of global exports.
- The Minister emphasized the need for increased financing in agriculture to boost food exports and ensure food sovereignty.
- Kyari highlighted Nigeria’s vast land and young workforce as untapped resources for boosting agricultural productivity.
- The government is focused on ensuring food sovereignty and reducing dependency on global food supply chains.
Kyari calls for greater investments in agriculture to reduce Nigeria's reliance on food imports and to strengthen the country’s food security and export potential.
Sources: TheCable
