At the last count recorded in November 2023, food inflation in Nigeria had reddened to a critical 32.84 percent, therefore making it difficult for households to eat their stomachs full.

But in the coming months, the reality might change for the better because farmers are seeing signs of progress. Improvements have appeared in the form of the federal government-speared cultivation of close to 323,000 hectares of farmlands spread all over the country that is already ongoing.

The plan is to groom up to 500,000 hectares this year, which then give access to more land to be applied for cultivation. President Bola Tinubu while declaring a state of emergency on food insecurity last July had aimed for the target as part of a government-led intervention.

It is expected that when food supplies from the current dry season planting reach the market, it will lead to significant relief as families visit the market to buy goods, hopefully at a cheaper rate than they are used to.

A Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS) report, according to Punch News, revealed wheat, rice, maize and cassava as the focus crops. Wheat is currently getting attention as it is now in its season.

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The report confirmed that 123,000 hectares of land has been allocated to wheat planting, and then rice with a room of 150,000 hectares to drive production. It is significantly less than what the previous crops got for their cultivation but farmers now have access to grow maize on 30,000 hectares of farmland, and for cassava, they get 20,000 hectares.

Kabir Ibrahim, President of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria can see the benefits of the investments, which he credits to Mr Tinubu.

Of course, if you have more food on the table in the market, the cost of the commodities will drop. Simple economics shows you that the more the availability, the more ability you have to meet the demand.

Therefore, there won’t be stress in the supply to cause inflation. So, theoretically, we will not have food inflation once we are able to successfully cultivate the over 300,000 hectares and pursue the 500,000 hectares.

But getting affordable food down to family tables takes a multi-pronged approach that considers transportation costs. Most of the expenses that households or businesses find themselves confronting have to do with the high transport fares.

Those expenses are linked to the removal of fuel subsidies at President Bola Tinubu’s inauguration last May. Figuring out a way out to provide cheaper energy is certainly not the FMAFS’s primary responsibility to bear.

What the ministry has is its commitment, according to Minister, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, to achieve food security and driving down food inflation to the barest minimum.