Why Tinubu’s declaration of emergency on food insecurity not yielding result

One of the fallouts of the removal of subsidy on petrol is food inflation. To intervene, following agitations from Nigerians, the Federal Government, with commitment from the 36 state governors, in July last year, declared a state of emergency on food insecurity. Paradoxically, one year after, the country is not only just battling the issue of affordability, but also insufficiency as reflected in the August 1 – 10, 2024 national protest against hunger, Assistant News Editor, Weekend Guardian, GBENGA SALAU reports.

Exactly a year after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu declared a state of emergency on the food sector in Nigeria through the presidential intervention on food security, pricing and sustainability, the issue of food inflation, which necessitated the intervention, has not abated.

In fact, things appear to have gone worse, especially with the national protests against hunger and “bad governance” that the country witnessed in the first week of this month.

Available data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicate that inflation rose to 33.95 per cent in May 2024 from 22.41 per cent in May last year. Food inflation followed a similar trend, climbing to 40.66 per cent in May 2024 from 24.82 per cent last year in May.

Indeed, government rolled out a road map on how it wanted to tackle food inflation then, and there was concurrent commitment from the 36 state governors to key into the programme in their various states to drive the project at the grassroots.

To check both food inflation and shortage, the Federal Government recently announced its willingness to allow 150 days duty-free import window for food commodities like maize, husked brown rice, wheat and cowpeas. The duty-free import includes the suspension of duties, tariffs and taxes for the importation of certain food commodities brought through land and sea borders. Within the same period, the Federal Government will also import 250,000MT of wheat and 250,000MT of maize approximately 2.5 million bags (100kg) of each commodity to ameliorate the shortages in the country and force down the prices in the market. The imported food commodities, the government said, would be in their semi-processed state targeting supplies to the small-scale processors and millers across the country.

But while some stakeholders commended the new initiative, many others are against it, including the President of the African Development Bank Group, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, who argued that the latest effort would be a huge setback for the agricultural sector and Nigeria’s food security drive on the long run, though it might bring some temporary relief.

Adesina stated that allowing massive food import could destroy the country’s agric sector, further warning that the policy would undermine all the hard work and private investments that have gone into the sector.

“Nigeria cannot rely on the importation of food to stabilise prices. Nigeria should be producing more to stabilise food prices, while creating jobs and reducing foreign exchange spending, which will further help stabilise the naira.

“Nigeria cannot import its way out of food insecurity. Nigeria must not be turned into a food import-dependent nation,” he said. Observing that Africa is home to about one-third of the more than 780 million people worldwide who are hungry, Adesina described agriculture as critical for the diversification of economies, and for the transformation of rural areas, where over 70 per cent of the population of Africa live.

He noted that Africa has 65 per cent of the uncultivated arable land left in the world to feed 9.5 billion people by 2050, and that what Africa does with agriculture will determine the future of food in the world.

“It is clear, therefore, that unless we transform agriculture, Africa cannot eliminate poverty. Essentially, food is money. The size of the food and agriculture market in Africa will reach $1 trillion by 2030,” he said.

Ironically, in July 2023, government announced a robust intervention to check food inflation that was limiting purchasing power. Yet, one year after, a long list of items on the road map to check both food inflation and increase production, the country now, is not only battling food inflation, but also insufficiency.

In introducing the intervention, the government then claimed that it was not unmindful of the rising cost of food and how it has negatively affected the citizens, adding that while availability is not a problem, affordability is a major issue, which led to a significant drop in demand, thereby, undermining the viability of the entire agriculture and food value chain.

The government then came up with a number of initiatives, which included 11 intervention ideas to be deployed in the immediate, medium and long-term, to reverse the inflationary trend and guarantee future uninterrupted supplies of affordable foods to ordinary Nigerians.

So, government outlined a number of things, saying matters pertaining to food and water availability and affordability, as essential livelihood items, would be included within the purview of the National Security Council.

In the immediate term, government said certain percentage of savings from the fuel subsidy removal would be deplored into the agricultural sector, as a way to revamp it. It added that part of that was a draft memorandum of partnership between the government and the individual stakeholder representatives that encompasses the decisions taken and actions proposed from its engagements.

The government listed other intervention strategies to include immediate release of fertilisers and grains to farmers and households to mitigate the effects of the subsidy removal, as well as urgent synergy between the ministries of Agriculture and that of Water Resources to ensure adequate irrigation of farmlands and to guarantee that food is produced all-year round. This, it said, would prevent having farming down times as the country cannot be comfortable with seasonal farming.

“We shall create and support a National Commodity Board that will review and continuously assess food prices, as well as maintain a strategic food reserve that will be used as a price stabilisation mechanism for critical grains and other food items. Through this board, the government will moderate spikes and dips in food prices.

“To achieve this, we have the following stakeholders on board to support the intervention effort of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu: The National Commodity Exchange (NCX), Seed Companies, National Seed Council and research institutes, NIRSAL Microfinance Bank, Food processing/agric processing associations, private sector holders and prime anchors, smallholder farmers, crop associations and fertiliser producers, blenders and suppliers associations, to mention a few.

“We will engage our security architecture to protect the farms and the farmers so that farmers can return to the farmlands without fear of attacks. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will continue to play a major role in funding the agricultural value chain.”

The government also said that land banks would be activated as there are 500,000 hectares of already mapped land that will be used to increase the availability of arable land for farming, which will immediately impact food output.
On mechanisation and land clearing, the government said it would also collaborate with mechanisation companies to clear more forests and make them available for farming.

“River basins – there are currently 11 that are expected to ensure the planting of crops during the dry season with irrigation schemes that will guarantee continuous farming/ food production all-year-round, to stem the seasonal glut and scarcity that we usually experience. We will deploy concessionary capital/funding to the sector, especially towards fertiliser, processing, mechanisation, seeds, chemicals, equipment, feed and labour, among others.

“The concessionary funds will ensure food is always available and affordable, thereby, having a direct impact on Nigeria’s Human Capital Index (HCI). This administration is focused on ensuring that the HCI numbers, which currently rank as the third lowest in the world, are improved for increased productivity.

“Transportation and Storage: The cost of transporting agricultural products has been a major challenge (due to permits, toll gates, and other associated costs). When the costs of moving farm produce are significantly impacted – it will immediately be passed to the consumers, which will affect the price of food – the government will explore other means of transportation, including rail and water transport, to reduce freight costs and in turn impact the food prices. As for storage, existing warehouses and tanks will be revamped to cut waste and ensure efficient preservation of food items.

“We will increase revenue from food and agricultural exports. As we ensure there is sufficient, affordable food for the populace, we will concurrently work on stimulating the export capacity of the Agric sector.”

On trade facilitation, the government said: “Transportation, storage and export will be improved by working with the Nigerian Customs, who have assured us that the bottlenecks experienced in exporting and importing food items, as well as intra-city transportation through tolling will be removed.

“Indeed, agriculture already accounts for about 35.21 per cent of employment in Nigeria (as at 2021), the target is to double this percentage to about 70 per cent in the long term.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s mandate to create jobs for our teeming youth population will be achieved with between five to 10 million more jobs created within the value chain, working with the current 500,000 hectares of arable land and the several hundreds of thousands more farmlands to be developed in the medium term.”

BUT a year after these lofty ideas to ensure food security were announced, the country’s food reserve is empty, which is why government is giving the import duty-free window.

Commenting on the declaration of emergency on food insecurity, a Professor of Agriculture at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, Adenike Adepoju, said that declaring a state of emergency on food insecurity is basically acknowledging that food crisis exists and it is expected that policies that will mitigate the effect should be put in place to improve the welfare of the citizens.

Also, a Professor of Agriculture at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Ayodele Adewuyi, noted that it is not sufficient to declare a state of emergency, there must be appropriate planning that must be well implemented for impact.

“Even that declaration of emergency, many agricultural ministries and other stakeholders don’t even know about it. As a result of this, it is more like a political declaration. If you have not sat down to plan, what exactly are to be produced? We want to produce animals, or food, that target must be there.

“What has been the level of hunger? What is the food shortage? What has been the level of importation? What has been the quantity of rice, cassava and beans being imported? All these will form the plan, so that is what is going to make the declaration of emergency to work, not just to say I’m declaring and that is the reason we have not seen the expected result.

“A year after, even if it is only two crops that we can say are available in abundance in the country, that can be bought cheaply, then we can say, it is working and maybe the government can extend the emergency. So, the issue of planning, commitment and appropriate personnel to implement has not made us see the expected results.

“I don’t think the farmers have been given the necessary input, even land, because when you say land, people will say land is everywhere, but if you want to use land to farm a certain crop you must know if the land is suitable or not. Even if you are planting by a riverside, you must know that at the end of the day, it’s not going to be washed away. If you remember during Buhari’s regime, 450 acres of rice farm got washed away in Kebbi State.

“Also, people are afraid of going to farm now because of insecurity. If that is not addressed, the declaration of emergency will not yield the expected result.”

On his part, a professor of Agriculture at the Enugu State University of Technology, Joseph Akubilo, said that insecurity must be tackled to be able to produce the needed food for the population.

“In some parts of Nigeria that are well known for grain, tomato and yam production and some other crops, it had been difficult for farmers to access the farms due to insecurity.”

On the duty-free import for some food items, Adewuyi stated that “the only positive aspect of the decision is that in a very short run it will quench hunger and make food available, but the country needs to put in place policies that will make it food sufficient. If the nations Nigeria is importing food from also suffer food crisis, then they won’t be able to supply any food again.” He pointed out that the food crisis Nigeria is experiencing is a result of the Russia and Ukraine war.

For Akubilo, with the 150-day duty free import, there is a need to take into account the foreign exchange implications. He added that the policy would not solve the food demand gap.

On the implications of the duty-free food importation, Adepoju argued that it would lead to increased importation, which will weaken Nigeria’s economy and consequently worsen the country’s trade deficit.

She also stated that reliance on food importation would reduce agricultural productivity within, thereby compromising the agricultural sector, with the resultant effect in increased food insecurity and economic instability

Adepoju added that aside the loss of revenue that could have been made in the form of import duties, cheap import would negatively affect the food system in Nigeria as many farmers may be discouraged from producing because of low patronage.

“It also promotes the smuggling of uncertified items into the country because of open borders,” she maintained.

CURIOUSLY also, one year after the president and his team underscored the place of mechanised farming in tackling Nigeria’s food crisis, his wife, Mrs Oluremi Tinubu has unveiled Home Garden Initiative, which the Federal Government has also adopted.

The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, who made this known, said the government’s support for the scale-up of the Home Garden Initiative was part of a series of strategic measures aimed at addressing the high food prices currently affecting Nigerians.

The minister, who added that part of the government’s measures is enhancement of nutrition security and promotion of production of fortified food commodities, said the measures would be executed within the next 180 days. He further said that in collaboration with the Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit (PFSCU) and the Economic Management Team (EMT), the government would convene with respective agencies to finalise the implementation frameworks.

Even before the initiative of the First Lady, it was said that smallholder farmers accounted for 90 per cent of the agricultural produce in Nigeria with about 38 million smallholder farmers. Yet, over 72 per cent of them live below the poverty line of $1.9 per day.

A recent study also showed that about 67 per cent of smallholder farmers surveyed grow crops, as well as raise livestock. To Adewuyi, home farming or subsistent farming is not out of point at this time as diverse approaches are needed to get Nigeria out of the food crisis. “Home farming would also help, but honestly speaking, what we need is mechanised farming because our population is growing at a very high level. If we do not adopt mechanised farming, we won’t be able to produce large volume of food to meet the whole population.

“In America, not more than five per cent of them are involved in agriculture. So, we don’t need large number of people to be involved in farming. For example, what about 100 people would plough manually in a week, the tractor would plough it in an hour.”

Akubilo described home farming as a welcome idea, noting that in the past, emphasis was placed on small rural farmers. “These small rural farmers had some constraints such as high labour costs and lack of access to adequate inputs, among others. The truth is that small scale farming must be complemented with mechanised and mass production,” Akubilo stated.

Adepoju also agreed that home farming is laudable and should be encouraged as it will foster farming activities that will reduce food insecurity, promote food availability and accessibility for all. “Home gardening will increase food production and supply that will lower prices of food, thereby making food economically affordable for all.”

On the way forward to ensuring food security in Nigeria, Adepoju stated that government must create an enabling environment for farmers to operate through policy formulation that involves the stakeholders.

She, however, said government must be deliberate, going forward by promoting food security throughout food aid and distribution chains to make food accessible and affordable for the citizens, as well as credit support to the farmers to enable them engage in medium and large-scale farming.

According to her, there is need for the use of modern technology that could improve agricultural outputs, hence enhancing productivity and agricultural commercialisation must be encouraged to make farmers grow different crops at the same time to meet their immediate household and others needs

“Food storage facility should also be made available to reduce post-harvest losses due to the perishable nature of agricultural produce. Modern food processing facilities should be made available, and farmers should also be trained on how to add value to their produce before distribution.

“The research institutes should also be funded to produce improved varieties of agricultural produce. This will aid fortifications of food to reduce hidden hunger. Examples of this are yellow cassava, which is fortified with vitamin A and Orange Fleshed Sweet Potatoes (OFSP).

“Also, policy framework that supports farmers should be strengthened not when foreigners are given opportunity to buy and cultivate land at the expense of local farmers’ production.”

Akubilo said government must address insecurity so that genuine farmers can have free access to the farms, as well as accept the fact that importation of food items cannot address the issue of food security.

“Government should encourage the Children and Young in Agric Programme (CYIAP) of Nigeria in its bid to ensure that children and youths of Nigeria accept the view that agriculture is a profitable venture.”

He further said government must ensure that the extension services of the states are properly equipped to perform the roles expected of them in addition to introducing the policy of guaranteed minimum price to motivate farmers to cultivate highly needed crops, more especially grains.

“Government must develop the political will to address the issue of insecurity of lives to enable farmers return to the farms, encourage the establishment of Agro-allied and agro-based manufacturing/processing companies and revisit the Land Use Act to ensure that genuine farmers have access to lands for food production to enjoy economies of scale.”

Attempts to get the Ministry of Agriculture to speak on the successes and challenges recorded one year after the declaration of the emergency on food insecurity did not yield result. The Director, Information in the ministry, Dr Joel Oruche was contacted via phone call and he asked that the questions be sent to him which was complied with but days after he was yet to reply the message.