AreaNigeria

Commodity GroupRice

CommodityAll

Date13/07/2023

Policy CategoryProduction

Policy InstrumentProduction support

DescriptionDeclared a state of emergency on food security, indicating that all matters pertaining to basic food and water availability would fall within the scope of the National Security Council. It also announced a series of measures that it intended to take to allay the impacts of inflationary pressure and to ensure supply of food at accessible prices. Among these, it would take immediate steps to release fertilizers and grains to farmers and households and to channel part of the savings generated from the May 2023 removal of subsidies on fuel into the agricultural sector. While it planned to make 500 000 additional hectares of arable land available for farming and looked to 11 river basins for year-round production of staples under irrigation, it would also take steps to shore up security for farms and farmers, to improve mechanization, land clearing, irrigation infrastructure and funding the agricultural value chain, particularly for agricultural inputs. It would also establish a National Commodity Board to analyse food prices and maintain strategic food reserves for price stabilization purposes. Additionally, it would explore alternative means of transportation, including rail and water transport, to reduce freight costs, and would facilitate trade by removing existing bottlenecks and stimulating export capacity.