The Federal Government has revealed that Nigeria spends more than $ 10 billion annually on importing food items, including wheat, rice, sugar, fish, and tomato paste.
Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, disclosed this at the 2025 First Bank Agric and Export Expo in Lagos. Represented by his Special Adviser, Ibrahim Alkali, Kyari said the figure is unsustainable and stressed the urgent need to scale up local production and agro-exports.
He noted that while agriculture contributes 35% to GDP and employs a similar percentage of the workforce, Nigeria earns less than $400 million from agricultural exports.
Kyari called for a major rethink in financing agriculture, highlighting the country’s vast untapped potential, including 85 million hectares of arable land and a largely youthful population. He reaffirmed President Tinubu’s commitment to food sovereignty and reducing import dependence.
