By Aisha Gambo
A Professor of Finance and Entrepreneurship, Kaduna State University (KASU), Yusha’u Ango, has urged the Federal Government to implement its 2026 fiscal policy measures in a manner that protects local farmers.
Ango made the call on Friday in Kaduna in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) while responding to FG’s approval of the 2026 fiscal policy measures which include reductions in import duties on key items such as vehicles, rice, palm oil and sugar among others.
The new policy outlined in a circular signed by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of Economy, Wale Edun, replaced the 2023 fiscal guidelines and took effect from April 1.
According to Ango, even though the policy could lower prices in the short term, it risks undermining local agricultural production.
He recalled a similar initiative introduced about two years ago, which allowed duty-free importation of food items for 150 days to address rising food prices.
He noted that the measures resulted in an influx of imported food into the Nigerian market lowering prices but negatively affecting smallholder farmers.
“While it reduced food prices which may appear beneficial, it failed to account for the impact on small-Scale farmers who make up about 60 to 70 per cent of the Nigerian farming population.
“The cost of producing a bag of maize or rice became two to three times higher than the market price. This eroded their limited capital and left them worse off.”
He further observed that increasing cost of farm inputs such as fertilisers and pesticides has compounded the problem, warning that many farmers may abandon farming this season.
Ango cautioned that the tariff reductions may bring temporary relief in food prices, but could ultimately threaten food security by discouraging local production.
“In the short term, prices may drop, but over time we risk becoming reliant on imports which is dangerous.
He advised the government to instead prioritise reducing the cost of agricultural inputs to support farmers.
He also recommended that government should consider purchasing surplus produce from farmers at fair prices to help them recover cost and stabilize market.
Commenting on the planned reduction of duties on vehicles and other goods, the don said the policy could be beneficial if it encourages local assembly and manufacturing.
“Reducing duties on vehicles is good, especially if it supports importation of components for local production.”
He urged the government to adopt a holistic approach to addressing economic challenges including inflation, poverty and food security.
He emphasised that farmers must not be left to incur losses, warning that such outcome would discourage production and increase dependence on imports.
“If farmers suffer losses, they lose momentum and interest to produce, and that means the country becomes dependent, which is not good,” he said.
He noted that Nigeria had made significant progress in rice production in recent years with a large proportion of consumption now met locally.
He expressed confidence that similar gains could be achieved across other agricultural value chains through consistent and supportive policies. (NAN) ww.nannews.ng
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