According to the latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the inflation rate increased from 22.79 per cent in June to 24.8 per cent in July – the highest in about two decades, as price of food items reached a record high in the last three months.
The announcement of the new Ministers of Agriculture and Food Security as well as Water Resources and Sanitation – the ministries saddled with the responsible of enhancing the food sector by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, came with high expectation as Nigerians expect sudden turnaround that will avert the looming food crisis.
The modification in the portfolio of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) now Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security as well as the Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation is seen as efforts by the government to enhance public health, food security and poverty reduction, while maintaining the integrity of fresh water ecosystem.
While Abubakar Kyari is assigned to man the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, his counterpart, Joseph Utsev is the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation.
Stakeholders in the sector, who are still shocked on the ‘woeful’ performances of the past agric ministers, despite the huge resources invested in the sector in the last eight years, have advised the new helmsmen to embark on implementation of policies capable of enhancing agro productivity and improved livelihoods.
The Managing Director of Spectra Industries Limited, Lagos, Mr. Durodola Omolewa Kuteyi, who called for synergy between the ministries, to work together, appealed to the new ministers to mobilise farmers back to their farms, adding that government also needs to mobilise security personnel to guard the farmers from attackers.
“This time around, the focus should not be only on tomato for dry season farming, we are in the peak of emergency; all foods should be cultivated on the basis of dry season farming, so that throughout the year, we can get maize, sorghum and soybeans.
“When talking about the raw materials for poultry, we are talking about maize and soybeans. Since we know our challenge – insecurity and government has promised us security on farms, I think this is the time for the ministry of agric to mobilise farmers to the farms.
“The government also needs to mobilise security personnel to guard the farmers. Then, the distribution of inputs should circulate around the country and not confined to a particular section of the country,” he said.
He canvassed the need for mutual relationship between the two ministries to work together to achieve food security in the country.
On his part, the Chief Executive Officer of Green Sahara Farms, Plateau State, Suleiman Dikwa advised the Minister of Agric to focus on reducing post harvest losses put at N3.2tr yearly and develop a retail based intervention direct to farmers through confirmed residents in the community.
He added that with the scarce resources, there is need to merge agencies to reduce cost and make funds available to real farmers, and build measurement criteria on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) rather than increase production, which neither ensures affordability nor nutrition.
“Over the last two decades, especially with post pandemic and existential climate related environmental challenges, which are a direct correlation with all the SDGs, the sector had been badly affected. This has led to the interception of various sectors of the economy, the environment, energy, agriculture, and water with overlapping responsibilities that require an holistic approach.
“They are all tied to the management of natural capital, which 90 per cent of our population are dependent on, while all of us rely on its output for modern life. On the current agricultural policy and strategic approach, we have to start with where we are, and according to the NBS and other sources, our post harvest lost is high, which infers that more production, more waste. So, investment should be in reducing post harvest losses and convert it to value, automatically improving food security and livelihoods.
“The second issue is the manner of intervention. We have to move to direct intervention in geographies and coordinated and proven entrepreneurs to drive a holistic approach at the upstream, while inputs are retailed in communities rather than through banks and offices, which is a disconnect with the reality of the beneficiary – a rural farmer or peasant.
“While this is a low hanging fruit, the long sustainable form is to implement the Nigerian commitment to the great green wall and other climate related commitments through a boot on ground approach, whereby through direct investments, Nigeria can become number one in the carbon, regenerative agriculture and reversal of trend as one of the most deforested nations in the world,” Dikwa said.
For Water Resources and Sanitation Minister, Dikwa advocates the harnessing of opportunities in sanitation for adaptation business modeling. “We need a minister who understands that sanitation is beyond cleaning, but a business opportunity to create sustainable employment.”
