MINISTER of Agriculture and Food Security, Akinwunmi Adesina, has said that Nigeria spends N360 billion to import rice every year, N217 billion to import sugar annually and N97 billion on fish.

The huge sum, he believed, could be saved if there is will to embark on massive production of the products and more attention given to fishing on the nation’s waterways.

Speaking yesterday at the kick-off of the Cassava Mechanisation and Agro-Processing (CAMAP) project in Ilorin, Kwara State, the minister said Nigeria’s food import bill remained exorbitant, adding that the country spends a lot of money to import commodities that could be abundantly produced in the country.

According to Adesina, "these acts are hurting farmers, displacing local production and creating unemployment".