Boosting food security in Africa
The World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have taken bold steps to boost food production in Nigeria and other African countries. The World Bank has specifically pledged $45 billion for that purpose. This has surpassed its initial commitment of $30billion to boost agriculture in Africa. The bank says that its latest intervention programmes will benefit millions of people, including women in Nigeria and other African countries. Already, the bank’s food and nutritional security portfolio will cover over 90 countries with specific focus on both short and long-term interventions that will expand social protection, including boosting productivity and climate-smart agriculture.
Similarly, the AfDB has committed to invest $2.9 billion in agriculture in Nigeria and some other African countries. This was announced in by the bank’s Group President, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, during the bank’s recent annual meeting in Nairobi, Kenya. Also, six African countries have created presidential level councils to drive food and agriculture in their countries.
The countries are Nigeria, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Central African Republic and Zambia. The project is expected to take off soon in Benin Republic, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Ethiopia, Burundi, Guinea Bissau, Senegal, Malawi and Togo. The presidential councils will drive the implementation of the bank’s country food and agriculture delivery compacts.
The country food and agriculture delivery compacts agenda will enable African governments to mobilise and align resources with development partners and the private sector financing to achieve food security in the shortest possible time. The AfDB has promised that additional financial support will be given to countries that are implementing the agricultural agenda. The financial support will include an investment of $25billion over the next ten years specifically targeted at increasing food production and bolster the continent’s agricultural resilience. It is laudable that the World Bank and AfDB are united in this effort to tackle food crisis in Nigeria and other African countries. According to the World Bank, its latest intervention programme is expected to benefit about 335 million people in Africa. This is equivalent to 44 per cent of the number of undernourished people, with 53 per cent being women. This is the third phase of the bank’s intervention programmes in recent years. AfDB has equally done remarkably well in recent times to curb food crisis in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa. These efforts come amid reports that about 26.5 million Nigerians will be food-insecure by the end of this year. Therefore, let all tiers of government initiate concrete policies to boost food production across the country. While we commend the World Bank and AfDB for their efforts to boost food production in Africa, climate change, global volatility of food prices, insecurity and geopolitical shocks that limit food production in Africa should be tackled. Considering Nigeria’s increasing population and volatility in prices of crude oil in the international market, efforts to boost food production and reduce rising food prices should receive priority attention. Reports that the federal government may suspend import duties on staple food, drugs and other essential items for six months, and waive levies on fertilizers, poultry feed, flour and grains to reduce food crisis is cheering.
With a steep decline in the disposable income of most households and rising inflation, better days seem distant unless rising food prices are checked. A recent report from the World Food Programme (WFP) for 26 states of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory is damning and requires to be urgently addressed. To make Nigeria food-secure, the government should invest in mechanised and all seasons’ farming. Farmers should be given high yielding seedlings and other inputs to boost agro-business. Agriculture represents about 23 per cent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
However, the contribution of the sector to the economy has declined in recent years due to insecurity and other challenges. The immediate consequence is the present increase in the prices of essential food items. In July last year, the federal government declared food emergency in the country with a plan to cultivate 500,000 hectares of arable land towards boosting food production. But that may likely take some time to yield the desired results. Above all, let government make agro-business attractive to young people.
