Import Dependence Worsening Food Crisis In Nigeria

The International Monetary Fund says that the food crisis currently ravaging Nigeria and other sub-Saharan countries has been exacerbated by over-reliance on imported foods. <br />The Washington-based lender says staple food prices in sub-Saharan Africa surged by an average of 23.9 percent in 2020 to 22—the most since the 2008 global financial crisis. <br />The report says the increase was commensurate to an 8.5 percent rise in the cost of a typical food consumption basket beyond generalized price increases. <br />The report said that global factors were partly to blame because of the region’s imports of top staple foods, noting that the pass-through from global to local food prices was significant.