Nigeria’s food insecurity has lately become a more challenging and very disturbing socioeconomic issue. This national problem became more pronounced and biting as a result of the increasing inflationary trends that migrated from the tumbling of the local currency exchange rate to the dollar and other major international currencies, to exorbitant costs of food commodities within the economy. The rising price of food items has significantly been linked or traced to the country’s very poor performances in non-oil exports of her locally processed goods at the international market (over a lengthy period of time). The economy rather degenerated to an inglorious status of an “import dependent economy” where virtually anything one could imagine was imported into the country, thus exerting heavy foreign exchange demand pressure on Nigeria’s depleting external reserves. And with a very low productivity performance profile, poor GDP growth rate, and poor balance of payment position on foreign trade with her international trading partners. Foreign exchange generation, therefore, became difficult, giving the constant trade deficit balances in the country’s current account. Not just that alone, the removal of the notorious fuel subsidy a few months back by the present administration exacerbated the present excruciating economic pains that seemed to have added salt to the injury being suffered by the ordinary man in the streets of all the 36 states and the FCT. These factors, no doubt, sparked off the unfavourable interferences (directly and/or indirectly) on food affordability and the general pricing of the commodity.
This economic situation, therefore, has made it obvious that vulnerable Nigerians who are majorly low income earners are these days faced with the condition of not having access to sufficient food (which includes food without adequate quality) on a daily basis, hence the recent warning by the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) that “31.8 million Nigerians face hunger”. Such unfortunate food insecurity where many Nigerians don’t have enough to eat and, frankly, do not know where the next meal will come from, is an issue the government should urgently tackle headlong by way of growing more food, taking into consideration the strategic role smallholder farmers play in the agric industry; while also extending the value addition on all the agricultural produce along the value chain. It is useful to state that food insecurity does not necessarily mean scarcity of food items in the markets of the economy. It is the abnormally high cost of food items in these local markets that has made them out of reach; and clearly so, for the very low income earners that experience static salary increase (by its deplorable low purchasing power) that otherwise should match the hyperinflation.
At this period in the country’s history, so many farmers that are known for their respective agricultural prowess in their respective home communities, no longer go to their farmlands because of fear of being killed by armed bandits that increasingly terrorise most communities in the country. The cases of rape and assassination of farmers currently pose serious security risks. This particularly impacts negatively on the overall food productions in the economy. It is also a direct indicator to the causes and effects of food insecurity, food scarcity and the increasing high costs of food items in the country. The onus then lies on the present administration to responsively address this dangerous national issue of food insecurity bedevilling the nation’s economy. This they must do, to let all Nigerians have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets the dietary needs and food preferences for the active and healthy life of every Nigerian. Government needs to do more as it is her primary responsibility, as sworn to during their oath of office; to protect, preserve the territorial integrity of the country, and save her citizens. The criminally armed gunmen that maim and destroy the lives of these professional farmers (the smallholder farmers) in all parts of the country must be chased away if the government sincerely wants the food production to improve.
The civil society and all the existing associations of the organised private sector (OPS) in the economy should be rallied round, encouraged and be seriously sensitised by the governments (at all levels) to key in, and invest along the agricultural value chain of the nation’s economy. This is for the eventual emergence of improved productivity and efficient exports of locally processed finished goods of non-oil exports extraction (most especially foods and allied products), so as to equally contribute significantly to the stable and healthy growth of the nation’s economy, through foreign exchange generation, for sustainable national economic growth and development.
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