Nigerians declare on World Food Day that eating is a war

Stakeholders have urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to quickly arrest the situation before it degenerates further as Nigeria celebrates World Food Day tomorrow amidst a worsening food crisis that is spreading like a wild fire across the country.

Although global climate change has had an effect on food production, Nigeria’s situation has been made worse by years of neglect of the agricultural sector and over reliance on imported food items in the face of a raging foreign exchange crisis, with the naira trading at between 1,005 and 1,025 to the dollar on the parallel market as of last Tuesday, according to The Guardian.

 

As a result, many Nigerians have chosen to leave the country in search of better opportunities, a phenomenon known as japa syndrome; those who remain in Nigeria continue to struggle and wonder if the government cares about their plight.

 

Over 24.8 million Nigerians face acute food insecurity between June and August, according to a report released a few months ago by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO).

 

The multifaceted security crisis, coupled with weak macroeconomic conditions and multiple natural hazards, is expected to worsen Nigeria’s already severe food insecurity in the outlook period.

 

Between June and August of 2023, the report predicts that over 24.8 million people, including 1.1 million in emergency (CH Phase 4), will be severely food insecure.

 

The removal of the fuel subsidy and other policies of the Tinubu administration appear to have exceeded the projection, with headline inflation in the country reaching 25.80% in August.

 

According to a World Bank report on food security published in June, roughly 64 million Nigerians are vulnerable to an emergency food crisis as a result of factors such as rising inflation, insecurity, and climate change.

 

It is estimated that between June and August of 2023, “107.5 million people are considered to fall into food crisis in the event of shocks,” with the majority of those people living in Nigeria (64 million), the Niger Republic (7.3 million), and Burkina Faso (5.1 million).

 

According to last year’s Global Hunger Index report, Nigeria has one of the highest rates of hunger in the world, ranking 103 out of 121 countries.

 

According to the report, Nigeria has a serious hunger problem, earning a score of 27.3 on a scale from 0 to 100.

 

Low, moderate, serious, alarming, and extremely alarming are the five categories of hunger that the index divides countries into.

 

The country of Nigeria ranked 103 out of 116 in 2021, and 98 out of 107 in 2020.

 

Toluwalope Daramola, a farmer and the founder of Menitos Farm Depot in Lagos, Nigeria, expressed his sadness over the news, saying that the food crisis is having a devastating impact on Nigerians, particularly the poor and the vulnerable, who can no longer afford the skyrocketing prices of food and other agro commodities.

 

Many people may starve to death unless immediate action is taken to alleviate their suffering. Many people have survived the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, but they may starve to death before food supplies can reach them. The act of eating right now is a battlefield. Everything is on the high side, and the situation on the ground is terrible,” she said.

 

This paper surveyed the market and found that the price of some foods has risen by over 50% in the last three months, making them unaffordable for the majority of people.

 

NBS’s Food Price Watch report, published two weeks ago, detailed the staggering price hikes across the board for staples like rice, beef, tomatoes, beans, garri, yam, and more during the month of August.

 

According to the data, the average cost of a kilogramme (kg) of boneless beef rose from N2, 141.18 in August 2022 to N2, 799.51 the following year, a 30.75 percent increase.

 

It also noted that the average price of a kilogramme of locally produced rice rose by 62.68% between August 2022 and 2023, going from N454.10 to N738.74.

 

The price of local rice has risen by N13.04 (or 13.04 percent) from N653.49 per kilogramme in July 2023.

 

According to the report, the average price of a kilogramme of brown beans rose by 27 percent between August 2022 and 2023, from N545.61 to N692.95, and the average price of a kilogramme of yam tuber rose by 42.80 percent between August 2022 and 2023, from N403.65 to N576.39.

 

The report stated, “The average price of garri increased by 49.16 percent from N305.92 in August 2022 to N456.32 in August 2023,” with a corresponding increase of 6.15 percent from N429.89 in July to N456.32 in August.

 

The report found that Anambra had the highest average price for a kilogramme of boneless beef at N3, 790.02, while Kogi had the lowest at N1, 835.71.

 

It was also noted that the average price of a kilogramme of locally produced rice was highest in Ondo at N903.26, and lowest in Benue at N529.72.

 

According to the NBS, the state of Imo had the highest average price of N1,087.14 per kilogramme of brown beans, while the state of Kogi had the lowest average price of N480.34 per kilogramme.

 

According to the report, the average price of a kilogramme of yam tuber ranged from N1,030.71 in Akwa Ibom to N328.71 in Adamawa.

 

Prices for a 50-kilogram bag of rice, which ranged from about N28,000 to about N32,000 from December 2022 to February 2023, have risen to between about N46,000 and about N48,000, depending on the market and location.

 

There is no doubt that there is hunger in the land,” Alao Kazeem, a carpenter, said, lamenting the severity of the hardships in the country. I have no idea how many of us will make it through this. Food and other basic necessities have become prohibitively expensive, and we simply do not have the resources to acquire them. Despite the government’s assurances, we have yet to receive the promised stimulus packages. This is a truly dire predicament.

 

Why is everyone always looking for a way to take advantage of the people? Who are we that we lack pity and sympathy? None of our leaders give a damn. Those in power refuse to believe that their citizens are hungry or otherwise struggling. They assume, without fail, that every Nigerian is having a good time right now.

 

The serious food security issues in the country are caused by the effect of unstable exchange rate, climate change, environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity, insurgency, especially in the nation’s food production regions, and violent conflicts across the world, according to Abisola Olusanya, the Lagos Commissioner of Agriculture, who spoke to our correspondent.

 

“These challenges have severely impacted the global supply of food, which calls for intensified efforts towards building more sustainable food systems to scale food production and processing, reduce food wastage, provide decent livelihood opportunities for rural, peri-urban, and urban farmers, as well as ensure food and nutrition security for Lagosians,” he said.

 

Suleiman Dikwa, CEO of Green Sahara Farms in Plateau State, recently called for a new approach to food security on the part of the federal government and other players in the food sector.

 

Dikwa noted that climate change has a double effect on rural farmers, causing them to lose both economic returns and environmental protection in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine/Russia war.

 

To solve the current food shortage, we need to take a more formal approach to discussing food insecurity in our agricultural and economic policies. Despite the allure of export dollars, we must address the concern of the poor farmer. It’s a chance to build strong communities out of meagre supplies, laying the groundwork for a new economic model in which people’s prosperity starts at the bottom.

 

Most people will have food to eat, and communities that have built resilience will be able to produce healthy, natural goods that can command higher prices. Therefore, we need to reevaluate our pursuit of highly mechanised and commercialised solutions. We’ve completely blown it, so we need to focus on what we do best.

 

According to Dikwa, food insecurity is a worldwide problem because climate devastation will reduce crop yields everywhere. He added that the government’s primary role would be to provide temporary relief.

 

We must work on solutions for the near, intermediate, and distant future. Nigeria has not done badly in controlling inflation relative to other countries, but our demand is for a better economy. He went on to say that the problem was a global economic issue that affected many different industries.

 

Dr. Agnes Kalibata, president of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), spoke at the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA78) in New York City, where she emphasised the need for a unique transformational plan to address the food needs of the 65% of the population dependent on agriculture and the creation of jobs.

 

In light of the ambiguity surrounding water scarcity, food insecurity, and the threat of climate change on the African continent, Kalibata stressed the central role of climate change in exacerbating hunger and the importance of constructing resilient food systems that can withstand its effects.

 

Acre Venture Partners partner Sam Kass noted that only 15% of food is traded within Africa, highlighting the continent’s unrealized potential for food self-sufficiency and trade.

 

Kass, who emphasised the importance of addressing climate change, warned of the imminent threats to global food stability and security, citing food scarcity, political instability, forced migration, and conflicts as consequences.

 

Prince Wale Oyekoya, a former Chairman of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Agric sector and current Managing Director of Bama Farms, Lagos, has called on the Tinubu administration to address this issue by providing real farmers with adequate funding and hybrid seeds adapted to the country’s climate and soil.

 

In addition to urging state governments to provide lands to farmers without titles, he also called for the provision of storage facilities to store farm produce to avoid post- and pre-harvest losses, the construction of farm settlements across the 774 local councils, and the provision of modern tools to farmers.

 

He also advocated for modern irrigation systems, the strengthening of the commodities exchange board, the appointment of actual farmers as advisers to the Agric Ministry, and the provision of processing facilities to add value before agricultural products are exported.