Food scarcity and the insecurity challenge

IN a bid to drive the country towards food sufficiency and encourage local famers to go into massive food production, the federal government directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to restrict issuance of foreign exchange (forex) for food import. It followed up the directive with the closure of the country’s borders, apparently to stem the illegal food importation business that was thriving across the borders. While some saw the steps as a pragmatic move, others felt the decisions were hasty as there were no well positioned safety nets. Although the borders are formally closed, a flurry of smuggling activities are still going on, a development which has contributed to the increase in food prices.

It would be preposterous to think that just a verbal pronouncement from the Presidency would save the country from its protracted lethargy towards investment in agriculture and local food production. We in Naija Times are in support of any policy that promotes local food production; after all, Nigeria had been relatively self-sufficient in food production in the past. The experiences of not following well-thought-out policies in the immediate past should, however, have necessitated a lot more circumspection. In fact, given the country’s massive land endowment and excellent climatic conditions, Nigeria should, by now, be counted as one of the few countries of the world with the capacity to provide enough food for its large population.

Unfortunately, there is an unnerving weight of hunger or even famine looming large in Nigeria due to hasty policy initiatives and tardy implementation processes. We commend the federal government for its various interventions so far aimed at encouraging both small and large-scale agricultural activities, as well as attempts at curbing the menace of hunger in the land. Of particular mention is the CBN/NIRSAL (Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending) anchor borrowers’ scheme that made Nigeria successful in national rice self-sufficiency — as a model for other crop development.

However, we would like to see a more strategic approach to issues concerning food production as well as effective development of the entire agriculture value chain. There is an urgent need to catalyse the completion of the on-going review of the National Policy on Agriculture to reposition the sector in line with current trends and make it more result-oriented. The 2001 National Food and Nutrition Policy should also be reviewed to address food shortage in the country.

In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development should build on the successes recorded by Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), who succeeded greatly as Minister of Agriculture during the Goodluck Jonathan administration. States and Local Governments are also required to do more to promote investment in the agriculture value chain because the sector, apart from being the largest employer of labour, will provide food security for all.

Freedom from hunger and malnutrition is a fundamental right of every citizen; but Nigeria does not seem to fare well in this regard as faces of hunger are commonplace across the country. The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) indicates that more than half of Nigeria’s children or about 52.3 per cent of the population have been recording stunted growth since 1993 owing to declining intake of food nutrients. The assessment is even worse now with the report from UNICEF which states that more than 20 million Nigerians go to bed daily without food. Even with all the policies and interventions in place, prices of foodstuff have been on the increase in Nigerian markets, so much so that the average food nutrient intake has fallen below internationally accepted standards. This situation was recently made worse by the sudden hike in the pump price of petrol, given the centrality of the product to the national economy.

The Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG) had correctly predicted the current food security challenge years back. It therefore decided to dedicate one of its annual summits to focus on the Agriculture and Food Security sector, with national, sub-national strategies and frameworks for action through stakeholder collaboration. We are not aware if the report of that summit received the required attention. Also, what happened to the Special Crops Processing Zones initiated by Dr Adesina to drive crops development and prevent the food security challenge facing us today?

Although many Nigerians had already abandoned farming for white collar jobs and politics, the situation is made worse now by security challenges whereby farmers can no longer freely engage in farming activities. This is happening even as we are witnessing a rise in the number of ministries, parastatals and research institutes dealing with matters relating to food and agriculture.

In contrast, countries such as China, Israel, Malaysia, Japan, Egypt and the Netherlands have been able to address the hunger problem despite the fact that only a little percentage of their population are involved in agriculture coupled with their peculiar environmental constraints. In the United States of America, for instance, the government subsidises food production to the extent that farmers are paid for food not consumed due to over-production. China, with the largest population in the world, has been able to mobilise its citizens effectively for sustainable food production. Likewise, the arid lands of Egypt and Israel have been turned into lush green plantations through constant irrigation. Malaysia that took seedlings from Nigeria in the late sixties is presently the world’s largest producer of palm oil.

Perhaps, the greatest problem of food production in Nigeria is the fact that the agricultural sector is still served with traditional and often out dated models that are inadequate for present day challenges. Inadequacies in terms of equipment and inputs such as fertilisers, herbicides, pesticides, as well as transport, storage and processing facilities compound the problem. Also, seasonal droughts, occasional flooding and land degradation in some parts of the country add to the challenges in the food production sector. They not only reduce arable land for cultivation but lead to population displacement.

Initial policies such as Operation Feed the Nation (OFN), Green Revolution and the River Basin Development Authorities did not yield significant results; these were pointers to the country’s lethargic approach toward finding lasting solution to the challenge of food production. Research Institutes are poorly funded and research findings which deal with peculiar circumstances are not usually given the required attention. This attitude makes nonsense of our desire to be self sufficient in food production in the short term.

It is disturbing that government has not been able to adequately address security challenges that are threatening agricultural activities particularly in the food belts of the country. Farming activities have almost ground to a halt due to herders/farmers clashes and other heinous activities by arms-wielding criminals, including bandits, rustlers and kidnappers.

The federal government must realise that no sound social development can take place in a situation where majority of its citizens are hungry and without adequate food compliments; neither can our economy blossom when our labour force remains hungry. There is no doubt that our country’s agricultural resources, especially land, have not been fully utilised. A trip across the country will reveal that less than a tenth of our arable land mass has been properly harnessed. The country therefore needs a definite, holistic food policy, upon review of existing policies, to guide the procurement of the necessary facilities and actual implementation of food production programmes. It is important to get our priorities right.

As the world’s population grows, with Nigeria’s figure projected to hit 250 million by 2030 and 400 million by 2050, there is a growing concern that the human race may find it difficult to feed itself if the growth pattern is not checked or if we do not make efforts to increase food production and ensure food security. The situation is dire in Nigeria with inflation rising to over 13% and we need to act urgently to stem the tide of hunger.

It is noteworthy that no other region of the world is under the threat of hunger than the African continent, particularly the Sub Saharan region. Currently, due to incessant sectarian and racial genocide in Sudan, hostilities in the Horn of Africa, wars and bad governance across the continent, more than 80 per cent of Africans are languishing in abject poverty and want. And in spite of huge national budgets cumulatively running into trillions of dollars annually, Africa still remains grossly under-fed. This is largely due to corruption and misappropriation and mismanagement of resources.

Relevant facilities, including land, improved seedlings, fertilizer as well as other inputs for food production should be made available to individuals who are ready to till the soil. There must be adequate training, research and extension services for farmers in all the food crop categories. Large scale farming requires the application of modern technology and farmers should be availed the necessary opportunity in their areas of specialisation.

Graduates of our universities of agriculture should also be assisted by government to own farms through the provision of soft loans, facilities and inputs. There is an absolute need to liberalise loans and other credit facilities necessary for agricultural development. Financial institutions should step up assistance to medium and large-scale farmers to encourage commercial farming activities. The issue of comparative advantage in terms of geographical regions must also be considered. That way, the cultivation of particular crops can be encouraged in areas suitable for their development. There must be enough storage, processing and off-taker facilities to take care of surpluses.

Given the current food situation worsened by the springing up of several Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps, COVID-19 pandemic and the looting of reserves during the recent #EndSARS protests, the federal government may wish to adjust the monetary policy measures of the CBN in restricting forex allocation for food import to give a one year window for completion of the transition to national self sufficiency in food production. The same adjustment should apply to the border closure, to enable food import from neighbouring countries for the next one year. These measures would lead to increased food supply and reduce cost of food items in the short term. Government can then use the period to tie the loose ends in the food security chain over the next one year and thereafter reintroduce the measures.

A country that cannot feed its population is prone to external manipulation. Not until we are able to effectively tackle the country’s food problem, we cannot truly claim that we are independent. Our government has a responsibility to ensure that the Nigerian population is well fed. With abundant food production, hunger will subside; crime and the cost of living will reduce drastically. Many Nigerians who jettisoned farming for politics because of “quick returns” potential should have a rethink. We must do everything necessary to avert famine in Nigeria because, if it happens, the rest of Africa would be in trouble.