Nigerian govt inaugurates committee to reduce food import bill by 50%

The Nigerian government has inaugurated the Inter-ministerial Committee on Research and Innovation with a charge to its members to ensure food security in Nigeria.

Vice President Kashim Shettima inaugurated the committee on Thursday, April 17, 2025 at the Presidential Villa, Abuja,

The Vice President explained that a major target for setting up the committee is to reduce Nigeria’s food import bill by 50 per cent, maintaining that “in each of these areas, we will pursue missions, not just metrics.

“We will not be content with data for dashboards—we want deliverables that change lives. What will it take to reduce our food import bill by 50%?

“How do we triple local pharmaceutical production? Let us align policy, research, and investment to answer these questions and achieve measurable, meaningful outcomes,” he added.

VP Shettima disclosed that the committee is a prelude to a Presidential Plenary on Innovation approved by President Tinubu, saying the high-level plenary, which will be held annually, will be presided over by the President himself.

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“This Committee is only the beginning. His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has approved a Presidential Plenary on Innovation—an annual high-level forum that will bring together academia, research institutes, industry, civil society, and the Nigerian people to align our national innovation priorities.

“This Plenary will be addressed by Mr. President himself, because innovation is a presidential area of priority. It is central to his vision for a new Nigeria,” the VP explained.

The Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, Mr. Uche Nnaji, noted that collaboration was critical in the renewed vigour to prioritise research and innovation.

The Minister said the inter-ministerial committee would help the country save scarce resources and move faster in the right direction, by harmonising efforts, human and material resources for the purpose of enhancing research and innovation across critical sectors of the economy.

“The keyword here is collaboration. We have been spending a lot of money on our various ministries, duplicating our functions. I believe that with this collaboration and this committee here, we will save a lot of money for the government and reduce duplication,” the Minister said.

On the committee’s terms of reference, VP Shettima said the committee is to coordinate action in five strategic sectors with the power to transform society.

He listed the committee to include “Agriculture and Climate Resilience, where research innovation must feed our people and protect our planet; Manufacturing Excellence, where we break our dependency on imports and build proudly Nigerian supply chains; Healthcare Innovation, where we shift from importing medicines to exporting medical breakthroughs; Natural Resource Optimisation, where we stop selling raw materials and start exporting ingenuity; and Energy Security, where we power our economy and secure our future.”

By: Babajide Okeowo

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