The International Monetary Fund, IMF, has said tackling food insecurity should be the immediate priority for the Nigerian government.
IMF said this in its End-of-Mission statement issued after the completion of the IMF Staff 2024 Article IV Mission to Nigeria in Abuja.
The End-of-Mission statement includes statements of IMF staff teams that convey preliminary findings after a visit to a country.
According to the statement, the new government inherited a difficult economic situation marked by low growth, low revenue collection, accelerating inflation, and external imbalances built up over the years.
It said the recent approval of a well-targeted and effective social protection system is an important step toward addressing food insecurity in Nigeria and implementation will be crucial.
The statement said the decision by the Monetary Policy Committee, MPC, to further tighten monetary policy would help contain inflation and pressures on the Naira.
The statement said an IMF team, led by Axel Schimmelpfennig, IMF mission chief for Nigeria, visited Lagos and Abuja from February 12 to 23, 2024, to hold discussions for the 2024 Article IV Consultations with Nigeria.
It said the team met with the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy of Nigeria, Wale Edun, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso among other dignitaries.
According to the statement, improved oil production and an expected better harvest in the second half of the year are positive for 2024 GDP growth, which is projected to reach 3.2 per cent, although high inflation, naira weakness, and policy tightening will provide headwinds.
It added that with about eight percent of Nigerians deemed food insecure, addressing rising food insecurity is the immediate policy priority.
In this regard, the team welcomed the authorities’ approval of an effective and well-targeted social protection system and welcomed the government’s release of grains, seeds, and fertilizer, as well as Nigeria’s introduction of dry-season farming.