With an estimated 26.5 million Nigerians exposed to acute hunger according to the World Food Programme, a Professor of Animal Science and Livestock Policy Strategist at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, (ATBU), Bauchi, Demo Kalla, has called for urgent action by leaders at state and federal levels to improve security in the country, increase production, as well as tackle food insecurity.
He lamented that a situation whaere food inflation surged above 32 per cent worsening affordability and Nigeria’s food import bill of N1.5tr as of quarter one of 2024, exposes the country’s vulnerability. He pointed out that Nigeria’s food insecurity is both a humanitarian crisis and a national security threat that requires immediate solution by the government and other stakeholders.
Kalla spoke at a webinar series entitled: “Food for thought on Nigeria’s food security landscape” organised by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations. He raised concerns that insecurity has devastated Nigeria’s major food belts in the Northwest, Northwest and North Central even as banditry, kidnapping have displaced farmers and halted farming activities.
Kalla argued that the impact of insecurity on the agriculture sector is seen in the disruption of farming in 14 major farming states and abandonment of about 4.2 million hectares of farmlands since 2020.
This criminal economy, he said, is actively disrupting agricultural production and food supply chains.
According to him, the herder/farmer crisis in Nigeria confounded by population explosion, climate change and the unprecedented global upsurge in insurgency impact opportunity for a food-secured Nigeria.
“Agriculture presently contributes about 25 per cent of Gross Domestic Product but it is desired to increase its contribution to 45 per cent. A secure Nigeria is a food-secure Nigeria. The country’s major dependence on food imports is hurting local production, reducing local farmer welfare and contributing to increasing unemployment.
“Nigeria is 26.8 per cent food insecure with agricultural growth rate of 2.1 per cent, child stunting rate of 37 per cent, global hunger index score of 28.3 per cent and peak food insecurity in conflict zones put at 40 per cent. This should be viewed as both a challenge and opportunity to increase domestic production on the account of import substitution.
“Nigeria’s import dependency is not economically sustainable and therefore should be unacceptable. While agriculture is growing, it is not growing fast enough to keep pace with population growth. The result is declining per capita output and rising pressure on food systems.”
Without productivity gains through inputs, irrigation, mechanisation and security, growth alone will not deliver food security,” Kalla said.
The don who said declaration of state of emergency in the food and nutritional sector as positive policy, however, expressed worries over policy inconsistencies and institutional weakness in the agricultural sector with regards to frequent shifts in agricultural policies, such as changing import ban, tariff regimes and subsidy programme, thus creating uncertainty for investors and producers.
Kalla said: “The Anchor Borrower’s Programme and National Agricultural Technology and Innovation Policy (NATIP) have had some positive impacts but limited coordination among federal and state agencies weakens policy implementation.
