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On food availability and affordability

Why are Nigerians not having enough food to eat? That is the question we need to answer. Statistics paint a grim picture and the anecdotal evidence is there. We have working farmers but numbers say people are not eating well.

The above was paraphrased from the address of the Chairman, Media Trust Group, at the 22nd Daily Trust Dialogue and Presentation of Unsung Heroes, themed “Food Security: Availability or Affordability?” held at the NAF Conference Centre in Abuja on 23 January 2025. One does not need an emeritus to explain the reasoning behind the choice of theme.

I have often had serious discussions with two close friends about the true value of our certificates. If we cannot make a tangible impact on curbing hunger, which continues to plague Nigerians, then what is the point? The alarming statistics of hunger and malnutrition only paint a bleaker picture each year.

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Pundits brainstormed Nigeria’s vast fertile land, large bodies of water and adequate rainfall in each geopolitical zone, suitable for various crops and rearing animals, explored and sought to decode how despite these rich agrarian factors hunger persists .

Farmer-herder clashes, a misunderstanding that has escalated from cultivated lands to homes, affecting innocent women and children, were deliberated upon, along with their impact on optimum crop production. In my view, our inability to properly harness pasture and rangeland is a contributory factor.

Genetically modified organisms (GMO) foods was another talking point. Exploring and tweaking specific genetic traits for better quality in other plants or animals is not new in agriculture. Before we sort ethical issues surrounding GMOs for long-term solution on food availability, attention must be paid to short-term remedy for same, and affordability.

Post-harvest spoilage or waste was another concern. Even as these food items, especially perishables, are not sufficiently abundant, during harvest, a lot go to waste without arriving at markets. What does this tell us? There is the ability to produce sufficiently but, as a nation it becomes imperative to invest in processing and storage infrastructure to arrest the issue of availability and affordability, it is the basic economic principle of demand and supply.

Insecurity remains the bane of farmers. Many have abandoned their lands in order to remain alive. Frankly, no one blames them. In offering a solution, the President of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) said there is a need to defoliate forests in Nigeria which serve as safe haven for criminal elements – bandits, Boko Haram, ISWAP and Lakurawa alike.

Present during the dialogue was the Minister of Livestock Development, Alhaji Idi Mukhtar Maiha. Among a lot of things he said Nigerians are tired of saying the country has “potential”, stressing that it is time to ”activate” it. Although we must know the potentials before attempting to activate, his assertion is on course, our potentials have since been established.

According to him, policies should address the issue where people produce for only family consumption with little to sell while also highlighting the need to change the way we do things in the agricultural sector, for us to get a different outcome.

I am a believer that every citizen has a role to play for the betterment of Nigeria but importantly, leadership bears greater responsibility therefore, I was happy the Minister and a representative of the Speaker of House of Representatives – both in positions to “make things happen” – were present or represented among other stakeholders.

Overall, the dialogue was critical, informative, and enlightening, but we hope to see where we go from here in our efforts to make food available and affordable.

 

Lawal Dahiru Mamman writes from Abuja and can be reached on: dahirulawal90@gmail.com

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