The Bank of Industry (BOI) says it has launched a mobile app to check live food prices across 8 states in the country.
The states are Borno, Plateau, Rivers, Oyo, FCT, Lagos, Enugu and Kano.
According to BOI, the web version, Pricesense.ng helps users check the wholesale and retail prices of food items such as rice, beans, tomato, maize and others in different states across the country.
The app also provides for analytics of food prices across brand type, quantity and at different dates of the year.
Food prices have been on the upward trend in the past one year in Nigeria with food inflation crossing 40% in June, 2024. A combination of disruption in regular weather patterns, insecurity in food producing regions and high cost of farm inputs such as fertilisers and others have been attributed to be responsible for the current food crisis in the country.
Various international development organisation like the World bank, International Rescue Committee (IRC) and the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FA0) had predicted record number of food insecure people in the country for 2024.
In particular, the world bank noted that around seven states in the country would witness severe hunger while the FAO noted that up to 32 million Nigerians in 2024 would be food insecure with women and children mostly affected.
Efforts by the federal government to quell the crisis include the approval of duty-free food imports for 150days and distribution of grains to all 36 states of the federation.
Furthermore, the federal government has also begun the sale of rice at a discount price of N40,000 per 50kg bag.
