ActionAid Raises Concern Over 40.87 Percent Food Inflation

ActionAid Raises Concern Over 40.87 Percent Food Inflation

JOEL OLADELE, Abuja 

The Country Director of ActionAid Nigeria (AAN), Andrew Mamedu, has expressed concern over the 40.87 percent food inflation rate in the country, calling for urgent action to address the crisis.

Mamedu noted this on Tuesday, at the National Stakeholders Consultative Meeting on the 2025 Agriculture Budget in Lagos.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for June, food inflation in Nigeria has surged to 40.87 percent, further exacerbating the current food price crisis.

Mamedu blamed the current situation which he tagged the worst in decades on weakening naira, significant post-harvest losses, insufficient domestic agricultural production and a heavy reliance on costly imported food.

“Urgent action is imperative; it is evident that if food prices were still affordable, citizens would not be mobilising for protests. We hope that through this meeting, we can collaboratively propose immediate and long-term measures to alleviate the hardships faced by our country,” Mamedu said.

The AAN director emphasized the need for strategic investments in supporting smallholder farmers, particularly women and youth, including enhancing extension services, access to credit, labor-saving technologies, irrigation, inputs, post-harvest loss reduction, and market access.

He also highlighted the importance of Climate-resilient Sustainable Agriculture (CRSA) and agroecology, research and development, monitoring and evaluation, and effective coordination.

The stakeholders’ consultative meeting was hosted by AAN in collaboration with GIZ, Oxfam Nigeria, Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS), and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of the ECOWAS Commission.

Mamedu said the meeting was aimed at leveraging understanding on the National Agricultural Technology and Innovation Policy (NATIP), the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF), and its connection to the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) targets.

“This meeting will additionally strengthen citizens’ participation towards making the 2025 agriculture budget responsive to food systems transformation and wealth creation,” he added.