Harnessing innovative agro-processing value chain to tackle food insecurity

Naturally endowed with good and arable land to cultivate varieties of agricultural produce, Nigeria has the potential to feed its population and export to neighbouring countries.

Besides the natural sediment viable for consumption, the country equally possesses generative soil with natural wealth and resources, which include crude oil and solid minerals to mention but a few.

With 34 million hectares of arable land and just a meager 6.5 million hectares under use for crops production and 28.6 million hectares on meadows and pastures, Nigeria is potentially viable to multiply the opportunities to satisfy its consumption and industrial needs.

Despite the vast and untapped land, Nigeria leads among African countries in food production including local grains in the continent. For instance, Nigeria is the highest producer of Rice in Africa with about 8.3 million metric tonnes yearly.

Similarly, Nigeria grows about 44 million tonnes of yam, leading other sister nations in yam production in Africa. The story is not different in the cultivation of Maize, Soybean and Cowpea where the nation ranks top among comity of Africa countries.

However, the country is struggling to explore its potential despite the natural deposits, exposing its citizens to insufficiency due to high cost of consumables.

The continuous attack on innocent farmers in Benue, Plateau, Taraba, Nassarawa, Niger, Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, and Yobe states, has significantly decimated manpower on farms, resorting to low cultivation and shortage in supply.

Apart from the security threat, the impact of global warming on soil regeneration is worsening food production in Nigeria. Farmers could hardly project margin of harvest and profit on produces because of uncertainty in the amount rainfall, temperature, wind and sunlight.

The situation is worsening by highcost of stable foods like rice, yam, beans, pepper, and other vegetables, which are fast becoming out of reach to average Nigerians.

The June 2024 food inflation rate recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics stood at 43.19 percent, indicating hyper cost of grains, vegetables and other stable foods in the market despite the weaken purchasing power of an average Nigerians.

For instance, a 50kg bag of rice goes as high as N75, 000, bowl of beans N5,500, tomatoes N8, 000 per bowl, while same quantity of Garri now sells for N3, 000 among other rising cost of other food items.

Owing to these challenges, Nigerian farmers find it difficult to hit maximum productivity, which adversely affected domestic supply and nearly crippled export of notable crop. The shortage has thereby given rise to import dependency.

Amid these challenges, Buhler Nigeria, an international food applications and solution centre, believes the nation can overcome food insecurity adapting industrial scale processing technology enhance local grains value chain.

The Managing Director of the company, Thomas Ogundiran, reminded that Nigeria has no business depending on food import to meet its domestic consumption, considering the vast arable of land adoptable to climate condition.

Ogundiran made the submission recently during the unveiling of Buhler’s multipurpose food technology solution ‘Grain Processing Innovation Centre’ (GPIC) in Kano. According to him, the need for transformation of deposited local grains value chain is solution to food abundance in the country.

He added that Buhler’s decision to site its second food application centre in Kano after Lagos facility was based on abundant deposit of local grains in the region. According to him, the GPIC will not only support regional food processing but affords job opportunity and business viability.

“Many traditional grains, pulses and tuber crops grown across the African continent could make a substantial contribution to its food and nutrition security. Boosting production and processing of these crops reduces Africa’s reliance on imported grains. Buhler technologists are working on industrial scale processing solutions for these superfoods,”Ogundiran noted.

Head, GPIC Kano, Engr. Ali Hmayed posited that with an average 2.5 per cent population growth, Nigeria requires urgent innovation to address deficiency in food production. Hmayed insisted the country cannot afford continue depletion of its foreign reserves on importation when little is required to diversify its local grains.

In his view, Hmayed opined that over reliance on import of foods like wheat, rice would rather make Nigeria vulnerable to trade disruptions and foreign exchange rate fluctuations. He emphasised that Nigeria must take the advantage of natural opportunity of local grains to increase food security and independent.

He maintained that the centre which is dedicated to processing of local grains into varieties of value chain products and also offers business ideas and opportunities to stakeholders to grow their brands.

Unveiling the new facility on behalf of the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, Minister of Agriculture, Abubakar Kyari commended the multi-billion naira Buhler’s investment on food and processing value chain in Nigeria.

The Minister pointed out that Buhler’s technological innovation Centre will not only boost food security and provide job opportunity for Nigeria, he assured the Swiss own investors Federal Government commitment to enable conducive atmosphere for the agribusiness to thrive.