Food Inflation Deepens As Experts Push AgTech Solutions
Rising Food Costs Expose Structural Weaknesses
AS food prices continue to surge across Nigeria, agricultural stakeholders are calling for urgent investments in agricultural technology, logistics infrastructure and climate-resilient farming systems to stabilise food production and ease pressure on consumers.
The experts, who spoke in separate interviews on sustainable solutions to Nigeria’s worsening food crisis, argued that persistent increases in food prices reflect deeper structural failures within the country’s agricultural ecosystem.
They identified insecurity, poor transportation networks, weak storage systems, climate change and inconsistent government policies as some of the major factors fuelling food inflation and supply shortages nationwide.
Calls for Stronger Government Intervention
Managing Director of BIC Farms Concept, Adebowale Onafowora, urged the government to treat food transportation as a matter of national security, warning that harassment and extortion of food transporters continue to disrupt supply chains and increase market prices.
According to him, officials involved in extorting truck drivers transporting food products should face immediate sanctions, including dismissal and prosecution.
Onafowora also criticised policies that encourage food importation, insisting that government should instead focus on supporting local farmers through guaranteed produce-buyback schemes.
He explained that such policies would encourage farmers to expand production because they would be assured of profitable returns on their investments.
“If farmers are confident that government will purchase surplus produce at fair prices, food production will increase significantly,” he said.
Climate-Smart Farming Gains Attention
Senior Associate Consultant at FutuX Agri-consult Limited, Oyewole Okewole, stressed the importance of year-round irrigation farming and climate-smart agricultural practices in improving food availability.
He noted that Nigeria’s dependence on seasonal rainfall has made agricultural production highly vulnerable to climate disruptions and extreme weather conditions.
Okewole advocated large-scale investments in irrigation systems, greenhouse farming, heat-tolerant crops and modern preservation technologies capable of reducing post-harvest losses.
He also highlighted the need for stronger cold-chain logistics systems to reduce wastage of perishable commodities such as vegetables and tomatoes before they reach consumers.
“Without efficient cold storage facilities, Nigeria will continue to lose substantial volumes of food after harvest,” he stated.
Farmers Seek Modernised Agricultural System
National President of the Tomato and Orchard Producers Association of Nigeria (TOPAN), Bola Oyeleke, said government must move beyond regulation and become directly involved in food production and distribution.
He argued that the current level of mechanisation and input support for farmers remains inadequate for a country with Nigeria’s growing population.
According to him, government should establish stronger food reserve systems, improve agro-security operations and increase access to tractors, seeds and farming inputs for small-scale farmers.
Similarly, Chief Operating Officer of Eliakim Integrated Services Limited, Austine Gbenga Adeniba, said Nigeria must transition from subsistence agriculture to a commercially integrated and climate-resilient food production system.
He warned that temporary interventions such as import waivers and market raids would not solve the underlying causes of food inflation.
Adeniba maintained that only a coordinated national agricultural transformation strategy focused on infrastructure, productivity and market efficiency could permanently stabilise food prices and strengthen national food security.
