On the list of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), zero hunger is the second global objective for 2030. The minimum a government can do for its citizen is to ensure that they are well fed. Every developed country, from the United States to China, Singapore, Netherlands, and so on are self-sufficient in food production. The three theoretical drivers of growth which are the quality of the labour force, capital per head, and technological innovation will only thrive when the population of a country is well fed.
There was a time in Nigeria when there was enough food for people to eat; this was in the 90s. Recently, the tides have turned and what we have is a classic repeat of hunger, malnutrition, and starvation. Food inflation continues to drive the inflation rate, which is currently at 13.22%. Besides, the prospect of cash crops is dimmer when food crops are still a challenge. This explains why Nigeria continues to rely on crude oil as the mainstay of the economy
How did a country that was exporting cash crops like cocoa, rubber, groundnut, etc. become reliant on the import of food? The biggest factor is poor government funding and attention to the agricultural sector. This has led to a low rate of mechanized farming and the adoption of innovative agricultural trends. Another big setback to food production is terrorism in the northeast. Unarguably, the North boasts of food supply to the country; however, the insurgency in the northeast has led to the loss of farmers and farmlands.
Another key factor exacerbating Nigeria’s food crisis includes revenue from oil which continues to provide FX for food import. Interestingly, the presidency recently ordered the CBN to halt this practice. The concern, however, is that Nigerians live on imported food; therefore, this order is counterproductive and unsustainable. For instance, there were rumours that the CBN supplied FX for the import of maize. This is the same product that was recently introduced to the CBN’s restricted list.
What are the sustainable solutions to Nigeria’s food crisis?
- A government that is keen on agriculture
- A land-use act that makes it easy for Nigerians to farm
- A job market that hires graduates from agricultural studies into agriculture with competitive pay
- A reallocation of parliamentary and executive budget expenditure to agriculture
- A diffusion of knowledge on innovative agricultural trends from top countries like the Netherlands and the United States to Nigerian farmers
- Protection of lives and properties of farmers in the northern region
- A mass agricultural project with kickoffs in university farms
- A policy that sets the minimum tons of agricultural products each state in Nigeria must produce
- Opening up the agricultural commodity exchange platform (AFEX) to foreign investors
- Infrastructural development
Without most of these strategies implemented, Nigeria will continue to depend on foreign countries for food imports; the CBN will keep struggling to maintain its FX reserves; Nigerian farmers will be entangled in stiff-necked foreign competition and Nigerians will remain hungry by 2030 when the SDGs of zero hunger is achieved by other countries
Written and edited by Michael Ogunremi