AbdulRazaq Hamzat, Executive Director of the Foundation for Peace Professionals (PeacePro), has warned the federal government about the dangers of continuing to import subsidised agricultural commodities.
In an interview in Kwara State, Hamzat warned that the policy is harming Nigeria’s agricultural business, deterring investment, and pushing the country toward food insecurity.
While the government hails the drop in food costs, Hamzat argues that the trend is artificial and harmful, citing “cheap” foreign imports supported by other countries.
The activist emphasized that the trend affects Nigerian farmers and jeopardizes national economic stability.
“It is shocking that, while other countries subsidise their agricultural industries to create jobs and sustain food production, Nigeria does the opposite, importing cheap food to destroy its own agriculture.” This is a fatal economic policy that must be discontinued immediately.
“The true victory is achieving food sufficiency through strong domestic production, not artificially low prices from foreign imports.” If this trend continues, Nigeria’s agriculture would be irreparably devastated, and the country will become completely dependent on foreign nations for survival.” he said.
Hamzat stated that foreign countries that send food to Nigeria excessively subsidise its farmers, allowing them to sell at artificially low costs.
“This has resulted in lower agricultural investment and a lack of confidence in the sector. Farmers cannot boost production if they are constantly undercut by imported food that is less than their production costs,” he noted.
Hamzat warned that while Nigerians may be enjoying cheaper food today, the long-term repercussions could be terrible, stating that “If these imports slow down or become expensive, Nigeria will be left vulnerable with no strong local production to fall back on, leading to a severe food crisis.”
