Zim Now Writer
Nigeria’s Senate has approved a bill that criminalizes the export of large quantities of unprocessed corn, aiming to mitigate hunger in the country amid a severe cost-of-living crisis. The legislation requires presidential assent to become law and imposes fines equivalent to the corn’s value or a one-year prison sentence for violators exporting unprocessed corn from a minimum of 1 metric ton.
Corn, a staple food also used in animal feed, drinks, and processed flour, is increasingly being informally exported to neighboring nations due to the naira's depreciation and its exchange rate disparity with the West African CFA franc.
The weak currency and high inflation, exacerbated by President Bola Tinubu's economic reforms, including the removal of a fuel subsidy and currency devaluation, have worsened economic hardship in Africa's most populous country.
With the United States Department of Agriculture projecting Nigeria’s 2024/25 corn exports to rise to 75,000 metric tons, the government aims to curb the outflow to address domestic food insecurity.
A recent joint report by the Nigerian government and the United Nations forecasts that over 30 million Nigerians will face food insecurity in 2025, a significant increase from the current year.
Nigeria’s annual corn consumption stands at approximately 12 million metric tons, with imports of about 100,000 metric tons, according to USDA estimates.
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