The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, has disclosed that bumper harvests in Nigeria around October and November will drastically crash the prices of food in the country.
Kyari, who made this disclosure on Sunday, 4 August, 2024 during an interview with Channels Television, explained that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu decided to approve zero-import duties on rice, maize, wheat and other staple foods to mitigate food shortages.
Thegazellenews.com recalls that the government had okayed a 150-day zero import duty on selected staple foods.
Giving details on the initiative, Kyari said the programme is expected to last until around October or November, when the agriculture harvest season would have set in.
The minister highlighted that the importation of food items is a temporary measure by the federal government to curb food inflation and will not continue indefinitely.
Kyari mentioned that the country is expected to have a substantial harvest in the coming months, which is anticipated to reduce food prices significantly.
“We are talking about an importation level of 300,000 to 400,000 metric tonnes per month for all five crops. It will last only until harvest. It’s about October or November this year. That’s when we’re going to have the harvest. We’re expecting a bumper harvest.
“The season that we find ourselves in now is a cyclical issue that you have in agriculture. This is what you call the lean season, and this is between June, July and August before the next harvest.
“That is why Mr President has decided to import rice, maize, wheat and other staple foods, as soon as all the fiscal issues have been worked out and the Ministry of Finance and Customs have ironed out the fiscal aspect of it,” Kyari said.
His comments come amid the ongoing hunger protests, which entered day 5 on Monday, 5 August, 2024.
