Nigeria, Sept. 1 -- The Director General of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Simeon Ehui, on Sunday, has said Africa imports close to $50 billion worth of food annually.

Mr Ehui disclosed this in an interview with journalists at the ongoing Africa Food System Forum (#AFSForum2025), in Dakar, Senegal on Sunday.

"Today, Africa imports close to 50 billion US dollars in food. This is unacceptable. We need to be able to use science to alleviate the problem of food insecurity," Mr Ehui said.

The staggering figure, according to him, underscores the importance of food sovereignty.

Food sovereignty is the right of communities, countries, or regions to control their own food systems, encompassing production, distribut...