Agricultural experts gathered in Abuja on Thursday to deliberate on strategic approaches to address the hunger crisis in Nigeria.
The discussions focused on critical concerns regarding food affordability, accessibility, and availability within the nation.
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The experts spoke at the 22nd edition of the Daily Trust Dialogue with the theme: “Food Security: Availability or Affordability,”. The dialogue, according to the organisers, is part of the newspaper’s contribution to stimulating discussions among Nigerians.
The forum, attended by both former and serving government officials, legislators, agricultural experts, farmers and other professionals, serves as a catalyst for enhancing national integration and cohesion, essential for the sustainable socio-political growth and economic development in the country and Africa at large.
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In his remarks, Media Trust Group Chairman, Board of Directors, Kabiru Yusuf, emphasised that the state of food insecurity in the country paints a grim picture.
He noted that there is an urgent need to address the gap between food production and affordability, urging stakeholders to find solutions that ensure every Nigerian can afford to eat nutritious meals.
Mr Yusuf raised concerns over the inaccessibility of street foods by many Nigerians amidst significant surge in the prices of portions of food.
In recent months, Nigeria has been grappling with a severe cost-of-living crisis, triggered in part by President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies, including the removal of petrol subsidies and the floating of the naira. This has led to skyrocketing prices, with food inflation up 39.84 per cent in December last year.
The crisis has prompted nationwide hunger protests, with many Nigerians expressing frustration over the government’s handling of the economy. Despite measures to alleviate hardship, such as increasing the minimum wage and subsidising food items, the impact has been negligible, and food prices remain high.
The situation is dire, with many families struggling to afford basic necessities. Fatal stampedes have also occurred during relief food distributions in several parts of the country during the past festive season.
Drivers of food insecurity
Aside from weak implementation of government policies, some of the root causes of the food insecurity crisis identified by the discussants at the dialogue on Thursday include, climate change, poor post-harvest techniques, inadequate storage and transportation facilities, and a lack of regulation in the market, among others.
To address these concerns, the experts recommended urgent action, including policies to address lingering insecurity ravaging rural communities, climate change effects, stabilising food prices, and transportation and infrastructure hurdles, among others.
In his remarks, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, who was represented by the House Committee Chairman on Nutrition and Food Security, Dike Okafor, said the National Assembly is committed to addressing food insecurity challenges in the country.
He stated that food security is a fundamental right of citizens and not a privilege, adding that the National Assembly is committed to a comprehensive allocation of resources for nutrition and food security programmes in the country.
The lawmaker lamented that Nigerians are faced with high rates of malnutrition, particularly among the children, with a significant proportion of them suffering from stunted growth and micronutrient deficiencies.
“We have committed to enacting policies that support farmers with subsidies, access to credit, and modern farming techniques and inputs. We also aim to develop legislation that promotes digital innovation, data protection, and e-commerce, while enhancing Nigeria’s export potential and reducing dependency through unnecessary imports,” he said.
He said Nigerians can produce more and better with less. “That is the only way food can be available and affordable,” Mr Tajudeen said.
On her part, Mira Mehta, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Tomato Jos, said food manufacturers in the country are struggling to grow food which has resulted in high cost of produce.
She said most Nigerian farmers are not competitive and that the country imports over 30 per cent of food which has negatively impacted production.
“This is huge because to bring in food to fill the deficit, we have to import with dollars and considering the exchange rate, food prices will be high,” she noted.
Ms Mehta said Nigerians spend way more of their money on food than any other people in other countries, with little to use for health, education and other issues.
In his remarks, National President of All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Kabir Ibrahim, argued that to get food security right for the whole nation, it has to be looked at from the six geo-political zones.
“Since 2016 till date, food has never been sold at production prices,” he said, stating that most Nigerians cannot afford food regularly.
He said there is a need to urgently address a number of threat factors like insecurity plaguing rural communities, climate change and poor infrastructures among others.
Existing flaws
In his presentation, Godfrey Nzamujo, Director General of Songhai Farms, explained that the fundamental flaw in conventional food and agricultural systems in the country lies in the reliance on practices that ignore the planet’s natural principles and patterns.
“Central to this oversight is the disregard for microorganisms- essential components of the ecological and trophic pyramid that underpin the food chain,” he said.
Mr Nzamujo, who was also the chairman of the event, explained that these microorganisms are the unseen architects of soil fertility, plant health, and nutrient cycling, forming the foundation of a thriving ecosystem.
However, he said, chemically-intensive agricultural methods systematically erode these critical elements, depleting soils and disrupting the intricate balance necessary for ecosystem resilience and sustainability.
The farmer explained that this unsustainable approach not only destabilises the ecological balance but also imperils the long-term viability of global food systems.
“To ensure food security and environmental health, we must transition to regenerative, eco-centric agricultural models that restore and amplify the life-supporting functions of microorganisms,” he said.
Mr Nzamujo, a professor, said environmental degradation, soil erosion, rural decay, mass migration from rural areas, and escalating unemployment are compounding the food crisis in the country.
In Nigeria, he said over 60 per cent of the soil is degraded, costing the nation approximately 13 per cent of its GRoss Domestic Products annually.
Despite these clear warnings, he said the nation failed to fully comprehend the severity of a population surpassing 200 million, facing diminishing and rapidly degrading per capita income.
In his submission, Nigeria’s pioneer Livestock minister, Idi Maiha, said ending hunger in Nigeria is not an aspiration, it is a necessity and a must-do.
He said the hunger situation in the country can be mitigated through efficient deployment of livestock resources across the country.
READ ALSO: Nigerian govt unveils programme to address malnutrition, food insecurity
He argued that Livestock production is one of the major sources of livelihood for the poor farm families in Africa and other developing countries in the world.
Based on this, he said efficient livestock production can contribute to the provision of food and income, reduce unemployment rate, reduce hunger, and malnutrition in the country.
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