Chad Exempts Imported Cereals and Farm Inputs from Duties Amid Acute Food Insecurity

Chad has taken steps to alleviate acute food insecurity by exempting imported cereals and farm inputs from duties under a decree issued on September 9, 2026. The exemption applies to wheat, maize, millet, rice, cereal flours other than wheat and semolina, forage seeds, fodder, compound feed, drilling, pumping, and water supply equipment, as well as machines, equipment, and agricultural inputs used for forage crop production.

The measure aims to ease the tax burden on these products and comes as nearly 3.2 million people in Chad face acute food insecurity during the June-August lean season. According to the FAO's Cadre Harmonisé analysis, around 17% of the analysed population is facing acute food insecurity, including about 241,000 in Emergency (phase 4).

The exemption also includes inputs used for animal feeding, which will benefit herders and irrigated farms by reducing upfront investment costs. However, experts note that this move may appear at odds with the ambition of gradual substitution by domestic production for certain strategic cereals.