Agriculture remains the biggest employer of labour in Nigeria, contributing about 24% GDP to the nation’s economy.
However, this sector is said to receive the least funding from local and international investors leading to the continued food crisis.
A 2022 report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) says about 19.4 million people will face food insecurity across Nigeria between June and August 2022. The report said the food crisis will affect Nigerians in 21 states and FCT including, 416,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
Nigeria and other 22 countries across the globe have been identified as “hunger hotspots” by the World Food Programme (WFP) in 2021.
These and many other reports have associated the food challenge to the continued trends of insecurity in some major food basket states like; Benue, Niger, Kaduna, Sokoto, Katsina, Kebbi, Plateau etc.
With the daily increase in the prices of food commodity in the local market, Nigerians at all levels continue to express concern and seek answers to when things will return to “normal”.
Farmers’ Concerns
For many Nigerians, agriculture is just part of the everyday struggle to put food on the table, and since food is one basic human need for survival, it must be sourced for at all cost.
Bamaiyi Bitrus, popularly known as Dogo and his entire house hold are into subsistence and commercial farming. He said things have been very difficult for them, and farming is no longer enjoyable like it used to be.
Dogo said the activities of bandits and kidnappers are greatly affecting farmers in Kaduna state, as many farmers have abandoned their large farms located in most villages and moved to safer suburbs due to continued attacks in those communities.
According to him, the major challenges farmers face now are security and price of fertilizers and pesticides, “apart from the countless farmlands that have been abandoned, the price of fertilizers and pesticides have skyrocketed in the last one year, if government can get those people off our farms, and make fertilizers and the likes affordable, we will be alright”, he said.
He complained that even though they do not know the reason for the increase in the farm products, they however trust that government could do something to make the situation better.
Dogo revealed that they used to buy fertilizers at 14,000 naira per bag, but they now get it at twenty-seven thousand to twenty-eight thousand naira (Ꞥ27,000-Ꞥ28,000). “Pesticides are also very expensive now, 1litre that used to go for one thousand four hundred naira (Ꞥ1,400) suddenly the price is now four thousand naira (Ꞥ4,000) per litre.
He called on the government to come to the aid of farmers by tackling the insecurity that is causing so much loses to farmers, and contributing to food scarcity in the country.
The Agro Challenge
So far, government interventions targeted at eradicating poverty at different levels have produced little result, as cases of misappropriation of public funds continue to trail past and present public office holders.
In commemoration of this year’s AFRICA DAY with the theme “Strengthening Resilience in Nutrition and Food Security on the African Continent”, The ONE Campaign held a virtual meeting to discuss ‘What Kind of Jobs Young Africans Want’ as the way forward out of unemployment and ensuring food security in Africa.
Speakers at the event identified youths inclusion and investing in agriculture as a realistic path towards ensuring food security for Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
Speaking on the JobsNow campaign tweeter space, Edwin Ikhuoria, the Africa Executive Director, ONE Campaign said the current food crisis in Africa shows that there is a lot of space in the agriculture sector which can create room for employment.
Edwin stated that a biennial review of Africa by the Africa Union report says that agriculture is the least funded sector in terms of investment despite the prospects in the industry. “There is a lot of money to be made, but we are not really exploiting that sector as much as we should” he said.
Also speaking at the meeting (tweeter space) was Aisha Hadejia, Manager, Sahel Consulting, Agriculture and Nutrition Limited, she said that “Africa has about 60% of the world’s arable land, with diverse climate suitable for almost every crop in the world.
Aisha noted that agro industry goes beyond farming, emphasising that there are lots of opportunities like agro logistics, food blogging, agro trourism, etc, that if utilized, will significantly reduce the burden of unemployment.
Getting involved
In 2021, Africa Media Development Foundation (AMDF) in partnership with OmniAgrik Specialties launched the JOUNALIST FOOD SECURITY PROJECT aimed at strengthening the capacity of journalists to increase awareness for action among policy makers and the general public on food security/insecurity and nutrition; highlight the threats and impacts, to demand drastic action from government which has the responsibility of securing lives and the means of livelihood of its citizens.
The project was ushered by training of journalists in Kaduna on the concept of agriculture, food security, impact of food security to nutrition and economic growth, and the need for a synergy between journalists and all stakeholders in the agro sector, to ensure that adequate information is received and disseminated for effective decision making processes.
Speaking to journalists at the training, Veterinarian and Managing Consultant, OmniAgrik Specialties, Dr. Yila Umaru Lakorok said the biggest challenge before Nigeria is not that of an impending war, but that of food insecurity, which is already at the doorstep as predicted by the UN.
Dr Yila said Nigerians do not have adequate physical, social and economic access to food, noting a number of negative factors impacting on food status such as weather condition, political instability, economy, unemployment and rising food prices, among others.
As part of the food security training for journalists, participants were taken on a field trip to Hybrid Feeds, to show them some of the processes involved in food production, processing, packaging and logistics.
Addressing the journalists during the field trip, the MD/CEO Hybrid Feeds, Leye Alayande commended the Africa Media Development Foundation and OmniAgrik Specialties for taking the initiative to embark on the training.
Alayande said the importance of food to the safety of a nation cannot be overemphasized “that is why you don’t play politics with food”. He said all hands need to be on deck to boost food production in the country and ensure that food security is treated with utmost urgency.
Journalists who were taken round the company were exposed to details of what is in involved in setting up food and agriculture business – like in Nigeria.
Leye observed that the insecurity in the state has greatly affected many of such businesses in the environment as owners have
continued counting their loses.
Agricultural revolution
Speaking at Africa Day Celebration, Zigwai Tagwai, a ONE Champion said most young persons see agriculture as just tilling the land, cutlasses and hoes, so they find it uninteresting.
According to her, there needs to be proper education from the foundation, there is so much when it comes to agriculture and food that most people are yet to be aware of.
“When you’re talking about agriculture you’re talking about the farm work itself, processing the products, harvest, marketing of those products, transportation, equipment maintenance and repair, You’re talking about power, storage systems, and “this whole value chain has to do with human capital and the involvement of people”.
She emphasized that if “we’re able to provide an environment and structures that will help in supporting these activities for young people, then we will be able to provide jobs that are not just a way of earning day to day pay that is not enough to even last for the day, but actually having good paying jobs that are secure and safe”.
CONCLUSION
While some analysts are of the view that our population is our weakness, others say is our strength, if properly utilized.
Nevertheless, it is unarguable that the country is blessed with every resource it needs and desires to succeed and develop, but the resources remain underutilized.
With the current approximate population of 212 million people, Nigeria undoubtedly has the capacity to position itself as one of the richest nations of the world and top exporter of agricultural products to global markets.
Government must therefore wake up to the realities at hand by providing enabling environment including tackling insecurity in the land so that agriculture could attract local and foreign investments.
With good systems in place for ease of doing business with improved access to mechanized farming, improved power supply, women and youth inclusion in the agro sector, promotion of local content, then, the issue of food insecurity could become a thing of the past.
