Nigeria Spends $10bn Yearly on Food Imports, Says Agric Minister

Nigeria spends over $10 billion annually importing food items such as wheat, rice, sugar, fish, and even tomato paste, according to the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari.

Speaking at the First Bank of Nigeria Ltd. 2025 Agric and Export Expo in Lagos on Tuesday, Kyari, represented by his Special Adviser, Ibrahim Alkali, decried the heavy reliance on food imports despite the nation’s vast agricultural potential. He stressed that increased financing in agriculture is vital to boosting local production and driving exports.

“Agriculture already contributes 35 per cent to our GDP and employs about 35 per cent of our workforce. Yet, with 85 million hectares of arable land and a youth population of over 70 per cent under 30, Nigeria still accounts for less than 0.5 per cent of global agro-exports” he said.

Kyari revealed that the country currently earns less than $400 million annually from agricultural exports, a figure he described as unacceptable for a nation with such resources. He noted that building a non-oil export economy requires rethinking agricultural financing and creating sustainable value chains.

Reiterating President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to food sovereignty, the minister said the administration is determined to ensure Nigeria not only feeds itself but does so independently of global shocks in food supply chains.

“Boosting domestic production and supporting exports are two sides of the same coin. We have the land, the labour, and the markets. What we lack are the systems of financing, value addition, and infrastructure that can transform potential into prosperity,” he stated.

Kyari further emphasised the need for innovative financing models and critical thinking to strengthen food security. He pointed to mechanisms such as agricultural financing with performance triggers, Pay-as-Harvest schemes, factoring forward contracts, and improved revenue-sharing systems as practical solutions that have succeeded in other economies.

“The fundamentals compel us to pivot — from oil dependence to food resilience, from raw commodity exports to value-added agribusiness, and from fragmented farmer credit to structured systems that can attract significant capital. Nigeria can and must do better” Kyari concluded.