[size=15pt]Nigeria’s food imports decline by $5.3bn –Adesina[/size]

By Chibuzor Emejor / Abuja

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Akinwumi Adesina, has said the nation’s food importation in the last one year has declined by $5.3billion.

Speaking at the South-South Cooperation Achievements High Level Forum at the weekend in Abuja, Adesina said Nigeria earlier before now, spent over $11 billion on the importation of wheat, rice, sugar and fish alone.

He said in the last one year, additional nine million metric tonnes of food has been produced and added to the domestic food supply.

According to him, “The impact of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) has been huge for Nigeria. In just one year, we have already produced an additional nine million metric tonnes of food.''

“At the same time, our food imports declined by $5.3billion. Over 2.7 million farm jobs were created which represent 77 per cent of our overall target.”

Meanwhile, the minister said Nigeria would save about $800 million annually from wheat flour import substitution with high quality cassava flour used in bread and confectionaries.

His words: “To reduce our almost $4 billion import bill on wheat annually, we embarked on the cassava flour substitution policy to replace some of the wheat flour used in bread and confectionaries.''

“As the commercialisation of cassava bread reaches its peak, it will reduce our import bill by at least $800 million and put this money back in the pockets of Nigerian farmers, processors and bakers.”

On South-South Cooperation (SSC), which is a tripartite venture involving Nigeria, China, and Food and Agriculture Organisation in support of National Programme for Food Security, Adesina sought the assistance of Chinese Government in the area of rice milling technologies and cassava processing plants, which would help Nigeria to be self-sufficient in rice production and boost cassava processing.

He further called for the support of the Vice Minister of China, Chen Xiaohua, in assisting Nigeria to secure agricultural financing loans from China Exim Bank.

Also speaking, the Chinese Vice Minister of Agriculture, said food security is fundamental to human survival and development and the right to food is the most basic human right.

cool

This our Harvard Minister of Agric is a champion of statistics on nations Agric sector. My concern is where he gets the figures he so confidently quotes to the last digit.

How does he aggregate the numbers? I will love to see the disaggregated numbers for my State and my village.

But I believe that the general trend is correct. Kudos to Nigerians especially youths that are now embracing agriculture. Young chaps make cool money now rearing fish, snails, etc. I know a guy in my State that graduated pharmacy, and is full time on poultry production. He has just completed his house

I may have contributed to the development I have completely ditched foreign rice for our local "ofada" rice(I dont realy mine doing all the rigorous washing)! Im working towards making my food intake 100% local.

The kind of news I love to hear!

where does he get his statistics from?

dgitrader: where does he get his statistics from?

go to the ministry of trade or better still go to the sea ports all over nigeria you will get what you want. Of truth i can authoritativly confierm the reduction of importation of rice suger and wheat through our sea port and seme axis. The guy need to do more in order to discourage total importation of food.

The most interesting thing is that since the begining of this year more than ten factories that uses cassava as by product have being established bringing it to a total of 19 factories

5 oranges is 100 naira here in Port Harcourt.

lovers of naija in d govt are working to repositn d economy of dis natn while haters thrive in propaganda. Gej till '19.

wazoboy: I may have contributed to the development I have completely ditched foreign rice for our local "ofada" rice(I dont realy mine doing all the rigorous washing)! Im working towards making my food intake 100% local.

Same here!
It is a conscious effort at least for most of my staples, no frozen fish, no frozen chicken,.. even sausages are made locally ..

Groundnut/Vegatable oil is still not local though.

Next step processed consumables like biscuits, nuts and pureed tomatoes etc

for all those disbelieving this report, its only good news, you'd need to wait for the bad news.

manck: [size=18pt]those are fake figure, Nigeria food importation increase 5 times in the last 2 years.. because of urban migration. [/size]

Do you have stats/proof/evidence to back your post

*singing* Ewa na beans o eeehhh beans o ewa cocoa na chocolate ehhh na chocolate o.. *in D'banj's voice*
#TeamDOAGRIC

Great news. Thanks GEJ

This type of news doesn't make front page on nairaland

*singing in chelsea fans voice*

goodluck Jonathan
goodluck Jonathan
goodluck Jonathan
gej
gej
gejjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj

On South-South Cooperation (SSC), which is a tripartite venture involving Nigeria, China, and Food and Agriculture Organisation in support of National Programme for Food Security, [/b]Adesina sought the assistance of Chinese Government in the area of rice milling technologies and

[/quote]cassava processing plants[b], which would help Nigeria to be self-sufficient in rice production and boost cassava processing.

[/b]He further called for the support of the Vice Minister of China, Chen Xiaohua, in assisting [b]Nigeria to secure agricultural financing loans from China Exim Bank[b][/b].

Also speaking, the Chinese Vice Minister of Agriculture, said food security is fundamental to human survival and development and the right to food is the most basic human right.[quote]

You sought for the assistance of Chinese Govt blablabla..Does he need to degrade Nigeria in an effort to solicit loans for a handful of machinery in an effort to channel any loan through their office for easy embezzlement

(Do your homework, drop a proposal through Nigeria trade Mission and the Chinese Exim bank will be more than glad to oblige you because you bring trade,jobs indirectly created for real people while tilting their Trade Balance against us, this technologies are nothing that our few engineers don't know) .

ADB can easily offer finance in Equipment Leasing-Private underwriting firms in U.K and Nigeria too can.
Money saved due to import reduction is over $4 billions, so what stops your office from using this kind of returns to go ask for funds to boost our Agric sector even further. We know, they ask too many sensitive questions that's why!!!

Cassava,Rice, Coco, Crude Palm oil processing machinery companies, all looking to sell machinery and the Technology- ADB can lend Nigerian Commercial Banks then could lend to the Ministry of Agriculture--Lend to another private/public leasing company -which Procures and lease machinery to established mills, farmers, refiners.

We don't have to lose so much when we negotiate trade deals with foreign partners just to obtain few pieces of equipment

Joint Research in genetically improved seeds and training for our common goal with Chinese institutions is welcomed. Our institutions shall benefit greatly with this kind of cooperation.

Processing is the next phase in Agric sector, there is going to be massive returns as we invest more inthe processing of commodities.
Which requires more capital yet bigger returns and stability
Figures may be questionable but all direction points to a BULL time for Agricultural sector

The growing interest in Agriculture by Nairalanders is a good indicator. The piggeries, poultries, fish ponds, agro processing centres being discussed & set up is going a long way in reducing food importation!