Nigeria, Jan. 27 -- In the short term, advocating for food security and debating aspects of adopting import substitution sound as perfect economic measures for Africa. Ensuring economic sovereignty has always been the primary goal since attaining political independence. But, at quick glance, most of these African countries have remained heavily dependent on imports, even a common agricultural item that can be produced locally, and ultimately cutting down budget.

The case in point here is the Republic of Benin. With an estimated population of 14.8 million people, the Republic of Benin, situated on the Gulf of Guinea along West Africa, shares borders with Togo and Nigeria and has arable land. Its demography shows approximately 45% of the ...