Nigeria’s Senate has passed a bill that seeks to criminalize the export of unprocessed corn to address the nation’s worsening hunger crisis, according to documents reviewed on Friday. The proposed legislation, which awaits presidential assent, stipulates fines equivalent to the value of the corn or a one-year prison sentence for offenders.
The decision comes as Nigeria faces severe economic hardship, worsened by inflation and reforms introduced by President Bola Tinubu, including the removal of a decades-old fuel subsidy and the devaluation of the naira. These measures have deepened the cost-of-living crisis in the country.
The weaker naira has encouraged informal exports of agricultural commodities such as corn, rice, and sorghum to neighboring West African nations, where traders exploit exchange rate disparities with the CFA franc. Corn remains a staple food in Nigeria, widely used for animal feed, processed flour, and beverages.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Nigeria’s corn exports are expected to rise from 50,000 metric tons in the 2023/24 season to 75,000 metric tons in 2024/25.
A recent report by the Nigerian government and the United Nations estimated that over 30 million people in the country could face food insecurity in 2024, representing a one-third increase from this year’s figures.
