Op-Ed

OBSERVATION: Tax Holiday On Imported Food Commodities

ByAdemola Yaya

PublishedJuly 26, 2024

To combat soaring prices of food commodities especially, which have gone beyond the reach of the mass majority of Nigerians, the Federal Government has decided to suspend taxes, duties, and tariffs on importation of certain food commodities like maize, wheat, husked brown rice, and cowpeas through Nigeria land and sea borders for 150 days.

In addition to foodstuff importation by private business people, the government is also poised to importing 250,000 metric tons of wheat and maize each in their semi-processed state for direct supplies to small-scale processors and millers and restock the nearly depleted National Strategic Food Reserve. With this policy, the Tinubu led government intends to tackle food inflation which stands at 40.66% in May 2024, by the data from the National Bureau of Statistics and makes foods accessible to the poor working people, particularly.

In the last one year, prices of food items which were taken for granted like yam, wheat, sugar, tomato and pepper, plantain, potato, garri, meat, egg, etc, have continued to skyrocket, making millions go hungry to bed as money in their pockets can no longer buy foods. The United Nations had predicted that 82 million Nigerians may go hungry by 2030 except the government tackles climate change, pest infestations, and other threats to agricultural productivity.

In March, 2024, a Presidential Economic Coordination Council (PECC) was constituted which later presented a N2 trillion package, which was approved by Mr. President, to be spent on attaining ‘Accelerated Stabilization and Advancement Plan’ with which agriculture was a major sector. Before PECC constitution, Mr. President had ordered the release of 42,000 Metric Tons of food commodities from the National Strategic Food Reserve to be distributed to the people with another plan to do more with 85,500 Metric Tons of rice purchased from Rice Processors Association of Nigeria and additional 30,000 Metric Tons of rice bought elsewhere. Furthermore, on Tuesday, 9th July, Mr. President announced the creation of a new ministry – The Federal Ministry of Livestock Development. The President seems to be convinced that livestock reform industry is a long term solution to herders and farmers routine violent clash.

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The above stated facts attest to the fact that Tinubu led government is concerned about the hunger in the land and striving to taking measures to bring down the prohibitive price of foods. But all these policies and measures only scratch the surface. For instance, what happens after 150 days tax holiday to food importers? Would skyrocketing food prices have by then evaporated? With corruption everywhere you go, wouldn’t the importers be compromised and make nonsense the tax waiver by the marketer and trader profiteers who would hide under the increase in the fuel price in moving the commodities from one point to another across the country? Yes, it is a good initiative to boost our livestock industry but is that a solution to farmers/herders clash which has been a major cause of food shortage that sparks off food inflation? Benue farmers who were chased away from their ancestral homes and farmland by the armed herdsmen have increased to 2 million in the past 7 years in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps with their children denied proper education. These are people that are known as professionals in food and cash crops production languishing in the 14 registered IDP camps across the state.

It is instructive to state that Benue used to be the food basket of Nigeria until this pathetic situation reared its ugly head. But it is not peculiar to Benue State, it’s all over and it is difficult to explain why successive governments find it difficult to finding lasting solution to this menacing problem. Apart the fact that open grazing is barbaric, it is a settled law as Hon. Justice Adewale Thompson had ruled on April 17, 1969 in Suit no AB/26/66 at Abeokuta High Court againt open cattle grazing when he pronounced, “Sequence to that, I ban open grazing for it is inimical to peace and tranquillity and the cattle owners must fence or ranch their animals for peace to reign in these communities.”

Apart from herdmen troubles, terrorists and criminals have continued to kill and chase farmers out of their farmland in most North-Eastern states like Borno, Yobe and Adamawa to mention just a few and have made frantic efforts at taking over in the South-West but were resisted. Failure of government in tackling this crime and terror seems to give credence to what was said sometimes that, “Any government that intentionally wants to fight crime and criminality or terrorism and clear them out of the country can successfully do so. It’s not a rocket science. There’s no criminal gang or terrorist group anywhere in the world that is more powerful than the government of their host countries. Anywhere you see terrorists and criminals operate unchecked or as if they are more powerful than the security system of that nation, the leaders are either romancing or are in bed with the sponsors of the gangs/groups.” Our security agencies have been doing their best but it is not enough. The bad eggs among them who are informants to the terrorist/criminals must be made to face hellfire while the sponsors of terror in any form who have chased our farmers out of their farmland should be made to face the full wrath of the law with immediate commensurate compensation to affected farmers.

Government must take a bold step to crush these crimes once and for all as it is only domestic agricultural production and productivity that can drive down food price and boost productivity which is the only viable way out for long term food security. Once security at the farm is guaranteed, the first leg to food security is assured. The second leg is fuel price. Despite lipservice of every successive government to diversification, Nigeria has remained a monolithic economy. Almost every aspect of our life is run and affected by fosil fuel and once its price rises, prices of goods and services will rise. The very day of pronouncement of “fuel subsidy is gone” was the beginning of skyrise in the prices of goods and services. If the government is genuinely interested in driving down the prices of foods particularly, fuel must be adequately subsidised, at least until local refining dictates a clement price, which can never be as high as that of imported fuel whatever the case. Even if security of farmland is guaranteed, as long as the price of fuel increases, the price of food commodity will rise; and that is the naked truth.

The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author. They do not represent the opinions or views of OSUN DEFENDER.

Ademola Yaya

Ademola Yaya is a columnist, author, policy analyst, pro-democracy crusader and communications specialist.