Yemisi Izuora
The Center for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has identified a major pushback to investors in the agriculture industry as the Federal Government launches food security strategy.
The Center notes that the strategy has produced troubling trade-offs and unintended consequences with major backlash on farmers.
In a policy brief by CPPE Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Muda Yusuf titled, “A Policy Imperative for Sustainable Food Security, Rural Livelihoods and National Economic Stability”, Yusuf stressed that while consumers have applauded the sharp decline in food prices and the notable moderation in food inflation, investors and producers in the agricultural sector are lamenting heavy losses arising from the collapse in prices of key commodities.
“The welfare gains from cheaper food have been profound and should be acknowledged. However, the cost to farmers and other investors across the agricultural value chain is equally significant and cannot be ignored.” he warned.
He said that there is therefore an urgent need to strike a sustainable balance between two critical national objectives: keeping food affordable for consumers while protecting farmers’ incomes and safeguarding investment in agriculture.
According to him, This development presents a major policy dilemma that demands urgent attention. Nigeria cannot afford a policy regime that undermines confidence and discourages investment in agriculture—one of the most strategic sectors of the economy, a major source of livelihoods, and one of the country’s largest employers of labour.
Yusuf, called for policy recalibration and rebalancing to ensure that farmers remain productively engaged, rural incomes are protected, and investor confidence across the agricultural value chain is sustained—without compromising the equally important objective of keeping food affordable for Nigerian households.
He also added that recently import surges of food crops—especially staples such as rice, maize and soybeans—have caused serious dislocations in the agricultural investment ecosystem.
This has inflicted severe hardship on farmers, weakened incentives to produce, and undermined Nigeria’s broader food security objectives, he stated, adding, “Although consumers have welcomed the decline in food prices, the long-term consequences are adverse: farmer incomes fall, production declines over time, investment confidence weakens, and the country risks returning to cycles of scarcity and higher prices.”
The Centre is of the firm view that Nigeria urgently requires a clear, rules-based and market-friendly Farm Price Stabilisation and Farmer Income Protection Framework.
Such a framework should prevent import-induced price crashes, reduce harvest-time price collapse, discourage distress sales, protect farmer livelihoods, strengthen value chains, and provide stable supply conditions for processors and consumers.
There is a need for a coherent programme grounded in global best practices and adapted to Nigeria’s fiscal and governance realities, he added.