By Our Reporter
As the rainy season begins, the Nigerian Army has deployed troops across several northern states to ensure the safety of farmers. According to a statement by the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, this deployment focuses primarily on the North West and North Central regions.
Buba highlighted that the presence of the military has allowed numerous farmers to access their lands, ensuring a smooth planting season and aiming for a successful harvest.
This initiative comes as Nigeria faces a worsening food crisis, with food inflation soaring to over 40%, as reported by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). In June 2024, the country’s inflation rate hit a peak of 34.19%, before slightly easing to 33.40% in July.
The NBS data reveals a significant rise in food inflation, which reached 40.87% year-on-year in June 2024—an increase of 15.62 percentage points compared to June 2023. The sharp rise in prices has been driven by higher costs for essential items such as millet, garri, guinea corn, yam, palm oil, and catfish.
On a month-on-month basis, food inflation in June 2024 rose by 2.55%, up from 2.28% in May 2024. The average annual food inflation rate for the 12 months ending in June 2024 was recorded at 35.35%, marking an 11.31 percentage point increase from the previous year.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural products and energy prices, also surged to 27.40% in June 2024, up from 20.06% in June 2023.
Edo State recorded the highest food inflation rate on a year-on-year basis at 47.34%, followed by Kogi (46.37%) and Cross River (45.28%). In contrast, Nasarawa, Bauchi, and Adamawa States saw the slowest increases in food prices. On a month-on-month basis, Yobe, Adamawa, and Taraba experienced the highest inflation rates.
Experts have attributed the escalating food prices to ongoing insecurity, inadequate equipment, and other systemic issues affecting agricultural production in Nigeria.
In response to the crisis, the Federal Government has implemented several measures, including suspending duties, tariffs, and taxes on the importation of essential commodities like maize, rice, wheat, and cowpeas for 150 days. Additionally, the government has approved the procurement of 2,000 tractors and 1,200 trailers and established a committee to address the nation’s food security challenges.