Food prices dropped by 50% – Minister

The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, has announced that the prices of essential food commodities have dropped by up to 50 per cent across the country compared to their pre-2023 levels.

Kyari made the disclosure on Monday in Maiduguri while delivering the opening address at the Community of Practice Meeting of Commissioners for Agriculture, Health, Environment, and Rural Development from across the federation.

The high-level summit was organised by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in collaboration with the Borno State Government, with support from the German government.

The event was held under the theme: “Stronger Partnerships for a Food Secure Nigeria.”

“Our responsibility is to translate that mandate into increased production, greater affordability, stronger rural economies, and a more resilient food system,” Kyari stated.

“We have seen the reduction of up to 50 per cent in prices of some essential food commodities, alongside expanded input delivery, investment in rural infrastructure, and support to smallholder farmers,” he said while addressing the participants.

Kyari noted that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration has placed food security at the core of its national agenda, challenging critics to look at the empirical evidence and not to politicise the cost of living.

“Let’s be honest, how much was a bag of rice and maize in 2023, and how much is it now? What is the percentage? Let us not play politics with these things,” he added.

The minister explained that the Maiduguri summit would critically evaluate the Kampala Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Declaration and its Strategy and Action Plan for 2026–2035.

According to him, the Kampala framework takes a comprehensive agrifood systems approach, prioritising sustainable production, investment and finance, food and nutrition security, trade, inclusion, climate resilience, and stronger governance.

He noted that Nigeria has already developed and validated a 10-Year National Agrifood System Strategy and Action Plan to domesticate these commitments.