Food Security: Expert calls for state of emergency lest Nigerians die hungry
Food security in Nigeria is precarious and desiring declaration of a state of emergency by the government of the country before hunger tightens its tortuous grip on Nigerians, an expert has warned.
Sunday Bangbose, a former president of Lagos chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFST), stated this in an interview, adding that the state of emergence was long overdue.
“A state of emergency should have been declared by now. It is already getting too late. Every available data is pointing to the fact that we are in a precarious situation already.
“Government needs to do something urgently to address all issues affecting food sufficiency,” Bangbose said.
He said the effort of government towards production of food in the country is enough, pointing out that any effort that does not yield positive results is obviously not enough or wrongly channeled or not sincerely applied.
“This government has talked more about boosting food production than previous governments, yet more people are hungry in spite of all these efforts.
“I think what the government is doing wrong is that this government is not clear about what they intend to achieve with each of the actions they are taking to boost food production.
“For example, if government has earmarked a certain amount to support farmers, a clear goal must be set for the percentage increase in production expected from such intervention.
“There must be a way of monitoring if the money got to the intended beneficiaries. Someone should be asking relevant questions. Why are prices of foods increasing when more production should lead to reduction in price? The issues of preservation of harvest, security and so on must be considered and solutions provided,” he explained
In his Bangbose’s opinion, it seems the government is more interested in getting applause for efforts made than for the results obtained.
“That is why the government is intolerant of any form of criticism. That is why they are quick to reel out all the schemes they have on paper rather than the impact of these schemes on the lives of Nigerians,” he said.
In respect of recent calls for young graduates to go into farming, Bangbose said while the calls are in order, “sadly, not achieving the desired results because the enabling environment to encourage such venture has not been put in place.
“For example, sometime earlier in the year (2020), a video of a young lady went viral. She was lamenting the high cost of feeds for her laying birds, which she could no longer afford thereby watching her birds starving to death.
“In another documentary video somewhere in Oyo State, a young lady farmer was kidnapped while her fiancé was killed during the kidnap by herdsmen. Such stories are disincentive to young graduates going into farming. If government creates the enabling environment, it will be easy to attract young graduates into farming.”
