The hunger in the land has assumed a terrifying dimension with rising prices of essential food items such as rice, beans, wheat, yam, garri and others. In the same way the prices of meat, fish, fruits and vegetables have increased astronomically. The cost of transportation has equally hit the rooftop. For example, the price of 50kg of rice is from N80,000 to N100,000 depending on the brand. The price of a paint of garri is N4,000 and above. Similarly, a paint of beans costs N14,000. A tuber of yam now goes for N5,000 or N7,000 depending on the size. The price of a breeder cock is N27,000. The female breeder costs N25,000.
It was probably due to the frightening hunger in the country that forced the Senate to bemoan the ugly situation and urged the federal government to address the rising food crisis before it leads to an implosion. While discussing the motion, “Urgent need to address food insecurity and market exploitation of consumables in Nigeria,” co-sponsored by Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, the lawmakers decried the nation’s empty food reserves and predicted imminent nationwide protests over the excruciating hardship in the country. According to Ndume, “prices of basic food items are high. We need to do something or say something as representatives of the people. This is the first time Nigeria is being included among nations that will face a food crisis.” The Senate President Godswill Akpabio also admitted there was serious scarcity of food in the country and urged the government to do something about it. The Senate impressed it on President Bola Tinubu to urgently address the food insecurity because that Nigerians are fast losing their patience and may protest the hardship soon.
Based on the anger in the land over escalating food prices and economic hardship, President Tinubu has positively responded to the situation by approving 150-day duty-free importation of husked brown rice, beans, wheat, maize and cowpeas. The President took the decision to ensure that Nigerians do not die from hunger. The food items to be imported under the Presidential Accelerated and Stabilization Advancement Plan, which is targeted at stabilizing food prices and ensuring adequate food supply across the country, would enjoy zero tariffs, duties and taxes, including Valued added Tax (VAT).
The presidential initiative will lead to the massive importation of food commodities, including 250,000MT of wheat and 250,000MT of maize to support smallscale processors and millers nationwide. The initiative which has been hailed by the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA) and other stakeholders, including notable Nigerians, includes setting up Recommended Retail Price (RRP) for the commodities and engaging stakeholders to establish a Guaranteed Minimum Price (GMP). The government also plans to increase agricultural production for the coming farming seasons, including dry season farming. This also entails supporting smallholder farmers during the wet season as well as boost food production through mechanization of agriculture and irrigation development.
With this intervention to ensure adequate food supply to Nigerians, the President has demonstrated his awareness of the prevailing hardship in the country. In the same vein, the President has created the Ministry of Livestock Development to end the perennial clashes between farmers and itinerant herders across the country. The presidential move will expectedly restructure livestock farming. President Tinubu announced the establishment of the new ministry for livestock during the inauguration of the Renewed Hope Livestock Reform Implementation Committee at the State House, Abuja.
As the chairman of the committee, President Tinubu promised to implement the recommendations on ranching and other livestock reforms aimed at boosting the economy. The former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, is the co-chairman of the body. According to the President, the initiative will “provide the impetus to enable Nigerians to finally take advantage of livestock farming, diary product, cold chain logistics.”
While commending the President for coming up with the bold moves to address intimidating hunger in the country, it is worth pointing out that the massive food imports should be regarded as a temporary measure to avert food anger and massive protests. It should not be regarded as the norm. The food import measures are very timely and laudable. However, the President must ensure that the implementation of the plan is seamless and that the food commodities get to the target Nigerians at the stated price. The rising food prices in Nigeria cannot be blamed on scarcity of food alone; some greedy traders should be blamed for the food crisis as well.
The propensity of Nigerian businessmen to maximize profit is legendary and they can do anything for the sake of profiteering. We hope that greedy Nigerian traders will not hijack this initiative and worsen the food crisis. Besides, there is need to pay attention to the development of agriculture through mechanized farming and irrigation development. The time has come for our farmers to quickly embrace both wet and dry seasons farming. The era of seasonal farming is gone. What is I vogue now is all seasons farming. The era of hoe and knife farming is also gone. In order to boost food production, our farmers need to deploy relevant technology to farming. The 36 state governors should stop paying lip service to agriculture. They should stop rushing to build airports and other worthless projects and embark on projects that will benefit the people.
Since the state governments have most of the land for crop farming and animal husbandry, they must lead the ongoing crusade to grow more food items for Nigerians. With Nigeria’s vast arable land, Nigerians should not be suffering from hunger and food scarcity. We have enough body of waters for fisheries too. We cannot rely on food imports alone to ensure the nation’s food security. Every state in the country should now vow to grow agricultural products which it has comparative advantage. And those products are legion.
Nigeria has rice growing belts across the country that it does not have to import rice for local consumption. The same thing applies to beans, cowpeas and maize production. Nigeria used to be the major exporter of palm oil and palm kernel. Today, Nigeria imports palm oil even from Malaysia that took its first palm seedlings from Nigeria in the 60s. Nigeria is still a major producer of cassava, but there is much room for improvement. Nigeria has the potential to become a major producer of rice, beans, groundnut, cocoa, rubber, dates, pepper, tomatoes, cashew, coconut and others in the world.
We need to put the needed enablers in place to develop our agricultural sector. No doubt, the sector can rival our oil revenues if well developed. At the same time, animal husbandry can also be improved through ranching. This might have informed the President’s setting up of the new Ministry of Livestock Development. Perhaps the scope of this ministry would be enlarged to include, grass-cutter, poultry, fisheries, piggery and other animals.
The committee should also be enlarged to include Nigerians from the six geo-political zones. The development of agriculture can no longer be toyed with by the federal and state governments. The local governments should be part of the initiative to grow our agriculture. Agriculture remains the low-hanging fruit waiting to be tapped to diversify the economy and quickly move it away from crude oil. While crude oil is a diminishing and terminable resource that will finish one day, agriculture remains highly interminable and sustainable. The governors should develop a sustainable roadmap for the development of agriculture and work towards achieving food sufficiency and food security for the country.