Nigeria's N3.3tn food import bill in H1 2026 exposes agricultural weaknesses, Oyedokun warns
DAILY POST reports Nigeria's food and beverage import bill hit N3.3 trillion in H1 2026 (N1.39tn Q1, N1.91tn Q2), a 3.1% drop from H1 2025's N3.40tn, per NBS Q2 2026 Foreign Trade Statistics released Tuesday. The figure comprises N811.93bn for household consumption primary products, N770.54bn for industrial primary products, and N1.72tn for processed food and beverages.
In an exclusive interview with DAILY POST, Professor Godwin Oyedokun of Lead City University warned this N3.3 trillion expenditure exposes structural weaknesses in Nigeria's agricultural economy. He stressed the concern is not food imports per se, but heavy reliance on foreign supplies for commodities Nigeria can produce and process domestically—driven by insecurity, high input costs, limited agricultural finance, inadequate irrigation, poor storage, transportation deficits, and insufficient agro-processing infrastructure. This dependence pressures foreign exchange and exposes consumers to international price and exchange-rate shocks, compounded by FAO's warning that 34.7 million Nigerians may face severe food insecurity in the coming lean season.
Oyedokun urged the Federal Government to replace emergency interventions with a long-term strategy boosting agricultural productivity and import substitution, prioritizing commercial farming, irrigation, mechanisation, affordable credit, storage, rural infrastructure, and agro-processing. He advised Nigeria should position imports to complement domestic production rather than substitute for it, framing the N3.3tn bill as a measure of lost economic opportunities from untapped agricultural potential. Will strategic local investments reduce this import burden while enhancing food security and job creation?