Kila: FG’s Decision to Import Food is Right, Given Realities of Present Situation

Segun James

As Nigerians continues to groan under the weight of rising poverty, Political Economist and Professor of Strategy and Development at the Commonwealth Institute of Advanced and Professional Studies, Anthony Kila, has thrown his weight behind the federal government moves to import and subsidised food as a means of dealing with the current food crisis facing the country.

Kila, who made his position known while addressing an international forum of African and Caribbean political economists on a webinar organised to discuss economic and developmental opportunities in African and Caribbean countries, said the reality is that Nigeria is dealing with an inflation induced largely by sudden and astronomical increase in cost or production and distribution as well as reduction in volume and variety of production.

He insisted that a pragmatic short-term solution would be to import and subsidise food for as many people as possible; and that is what the federal government is doing.

Kila said: “There is an emergency in the country and there is nothing wrong with importing and subsidising food to deal with current food crisis, we can do both as a temporary measure till we can secure farming lands and grow more food and we need about 10,000 subsidised food outlets across the country to manage the emergency.

“While internationally preparing for better production and lower prices that will take months, the government can step in to identify where the food items are available inside and outside the country, negotiate with food producers even on credit bases and fast-track its delivery into and distribution in Nigeria.”

He also commented that monetary policies led by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) cannot save the situation the country is dealing with.

 Kila added that: “We need more impactful intervention on the real economy, the ministries of economy, agriculture as well that of trade need to make their impacts felt.”

The popular public analyst also called on political economists in Africa and Caribbean countries “to help people government and businesses identify opportunities for collaborations and guide them towards prosperity.”