Anthony Kila, a Political Economist and Professor at the Commonwealth Institute of Advanced and Professional Studies, has endorsed importing and subsidizing food to address Nigeria’s ongoing food crisis.
Speaking at an international forum of African and Caribbean Political Economists, Kila emphasized the urgency of the situation, attributing it to inflation triggered by steep production and distribution costs and diminished production volume and variety.
Kila proposed a pragmatic short-term solution of importing and subsidizing food to alleviate the plight of as many people as possible. He underscored the need for simultaneous efforts to enhance local food production. He suggested that the government could expedite the process by identifying food sources domestically and internationally, negotiating with producers, and expediting delivery and distribution.
He remarked, “There is an emergency in the country, and there is nothing wrong with importing and subsidizing food to deal with the current food crisis. We can do both temporarily until we secure farming lands and increase food production. We need about 10,000 subsidized food outlets nationwide to manage the emergency.”
Kila dismissed the notion that monetary policies, particularly those spearheaded by the Central Bank of Nigeria, could adequately address the crisis. Instead, he called for more robust interventions in the real economy, urging the Ministries of Economy, Agriculture, and Trade to intensify their efforts.
Kila’s stance reflects a call for multifaceted approaches, combining short-term measures such as food importation subsidies with long-term strategies to bolster domestic food production and effectively mitigate Nigeria’s food crisis.
