President, Dangote Industries, Aliko Dangote, has sought food security in Nigeria, as he predicted that the country would soon experience scarcity.
The African richest man said in a matter of three months from now, Nigerians would start to experience food scarcity as the adverse consequence of the Russian-Ukraine war, adding that this would necessitate the need for the country to grow what it consumes.
“Not only wheat or maize will be affected but a lot of components because as we speak, potash and urea supply are held largely by Russia and Ukraine. There will be a scarcity of food because people will not be able to access fertilizers going forward. But we may not see the effects now but in the next two to three months, it will reflect.
“We need to sit with the government to look at what to do. We need to make sure we grow more. It is about food security,” the billionaire industrialist stated at the 4th annual food processing and nutrition leadership forum in Lagos.
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According to Dangote, the war’s impact which began with the steep rise in wheat prices may soon spread to other foods including maize and other components of input for industrial food production, triggering low production and low supply.
Meanwhile, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed wheat is Nigeria’s third most consumed grain.
