Food insecurity and protection of northern farmers

The recent deployment of troops to protect farmers in the North-West and North-Central regions by the Defence Headquarters is understandably meant to enable farmers have access to their farms and boost harvest and tackle food insecurity. No doubt, the two regions have been the epicenter of banditry, terrorism and other criminal activities in recent times.

Similarly, the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, recently revealed that the police had commenced patrols on farms in the North-East region to give farmers the confidence to return to their farms. It is good that the government has provided northern farmers with adequate security to enable them go to their farms and grow the much-need foods for the nation.

We also believe that what is good for farmers in the 19 Northern states should also be good for farmers in the 17 states of the South. Although the insecurity is more in the North than the South, the threat to farmers is a national problem that should not be regionalized. It affects all farmers in Nigeria. The killer herdsmen do not discriminate between Northern and Southern farmers.

Therefore, the military and police authorities should factor the Southern states in their agro-protection agenda. Protecting only farmers in the North without factoring those in the South will be counter-productive and will never solve the problem. Let the troops or agro rangers be spread across the country. It is by protecting all farmers in the country that the government can really boost harvest and ensure food security.

Let this exercise of deploying troops to farms be nationwide. Let it cover the entire 36 states and 774 local governments, especially in those with acute insecurity. Protecting one part of the country with farm security and leaving to the part porous will worsen farm insecurity and food security in the abandoned zone.

Beyond the deployment of agro security, the federal government should evolve a security architecture where all Nigerians and farms will be accorded adequate protection at all times. While selective security can be effective as a temporary measure, government should move for the general security of all Nigerians. Therefore, let the government begin to address the drivers of insecurity which include bad governance, corruption, unemployment, poverty, hunger and misery.

The other day, the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) disclosed that over 31.8 million Nigerians were suffering from acute food insecurity and worsened malnutrition. Unfortunately, women and children were mostly affected by the acute food insecurity. The FAO stated this in its 24 Cadre Harmonise report, which was published in collaboration with GIZ and other development partners.

No doubt, the removal of petrol subsidy and rising insecurity have led to surge in food commodity prices, which the government is struggling to adequately address with massive food importation and other welfare interventions. The return of fuel queues and rise in petrol prices will exacerbate the food crisis. We say this because fuel is at the centre of all human activities in the country.

Any slight increase in the pump price of petrol will have a spiral effect on virtually all sectors. Good enough, Nigeria’s National Convener of Food Systems and Director of Social Development in the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Sanjo Faniran, explained that the study provides valuable insights into existing gaps, successes and challenges, offering key recommendations for addressing the food crisis. The World Bank, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and the World Food Program (WFP) had warned of the nation’s food crisis. Early this month, there was mass nationwide protest over food hunger which became violent in some parts of the country, especially the North. Sadly, Nigeria recorded is highest food inflation rate of 40.87 percent in June this year. The government should begin the demands of the protesters in a bid to avert the looming one scheduled for October.

According to a report, about 2,140 people were kidnapped across 24 states of the country between January and July 2024. The report also showed that families of 68 victims paid a whopping N389 million ransom to secure their release. A report by SBM Intelligence said farmers in the North paid about N139 million as farm levies to bandits who reportedly demanded about N224 million between 2020 and 2023.

However, a new report by the Observatory of Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA) said 55,910 Nigerians were killed and 21,000 others abducted by terror groups between 2019 and 2023. Let the government come up with pragmatic measures to tackle rising insecurity and food crisis.