Worried by the sustained surging food inflation rate in the country, economists at the Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSEA), one of the frontline economic research and consulting services providing firms, have advised the Federal Government to initiate sundry interventions to moderate the food prices and by implication, ameliorate the hardships of millions of ordinary Nigerians now suffering from food insecurity.
The experts, in the just published ‘Nigeria Economic Update Issue 3’ circulated to our correspondent at the weekend recalled that the National Bureau of Statistics’ latest Food Price Watch Report indicated the average price of 1 kg of brown beans (sold loose) rose by 187.29% year-on-year to N2,501.32 in December 2024, up from N870.67 recorded in December 2023.
Also in the case of rice, on a year-on-year basis, the average price of 1 kg of local rice (sold loose) rose by 111.82% from N917.93 recorded in December 2023 to N1,944.40 in December 2024 while month-on-month the price of the commodity declined by 0.79%.
The experts also noted that based on the NBS’ report, the price of onion bulbs (1 kg) increased significantly by 111.74% to N2,057.81 in December 2024, up from N971.86 recorded in the same month in 2023, and that it surged by 9.57% on a month-on-month basis from N1,878.00 in November 2024.
They further maintained that by geopolitical zone, South-South at N2,863.94 recorded the highest average price of brown beans, followed closely by North Central (N2,806.74) while the food item had its lowest (N2,089.70) average price in North West.
For onion bulb (1 kg), the Bureau’s report reflected that South East recorded the highest average price of the food item at N3,035.62, followed by South-South (N2,504.95) while it recorded the lowest price in the Northeast at N2,047.24.
According to the economists, the statistics agency attributed the notable rise in food prices to several factors, including high input costs, transportation expenses, and speculation and hoarding activities by farmers.
In addition, the Bureau linked insecurity and extreme weather conditions as also contributing to food shortages, further driving prices upward.
The CSEA researchers pointed out that high prices of food items was exacerbating economic hardship and making the economy susceptible to social unrest.
On the options open to government to reverse the ugly situation, the analysts recommended that “tackling these challenges would require a series of interventions by the government including subsidising farming inputs (seedlings), increasing access to affordable credit for farmers to scale up production, expanding food bank operations, continuous capacity building and education for farmers and investment in affordable and efficient transportation networks.
“It is also crucial to address the security challenges facing the country, as it lowers agricultural production”, the CSEA experts added.
