Recently, a report by the Global Hunger Index (GHI) listed Nigeria as one of the nine countries expected to experience food crises, hunger and acute food shortage in 2023. Other countries listed in the report are Afghanistan, Haiti, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Yemen, Burkina Faso and Mali. The GHI is a tool for measuring and tracking hunger at global, regional, and national levels.
Also, in a recent food security update, the World Bank listed Nigeria among the countries that would face severe levels of food insecurity in 2023. It has also been reported that about 25 million Nigerians are at high risk of food insecurity in 2023. Unfortunately, many of them are women and children. These reports should worry every Nigerian, especially those at the helm of affairs, the presidency and all the governors.
It is disconcerting that the once ‘giant of Africa’ now grapples with food shortage while a greater percentage of the people live below the poverty lines. It is more perturbing because Nigeria is a country naturally endowed with human and material resources that should make it a major player in global food production.
It is also distressing because a few people in the country, especially government officials and contractors, live in stupendous affluence, amassing outrageous wealth while the masses wallow in abject poverty, hunger and deprivation. It is also worth pointing out that Nigerian leaders should use the theme of this year’s World Food Day, “Water is life, water is food. Leave no one behind” to promote awareness and action against hunger and ensure that there is healthy diet for all Nigerians.
The World Food Program (WFP) has disclosed that “as many as 828 million people go to bed hungry every night, the number of those facing acute food insecurity has soared from 135 million to 345 million since 2019. A total of 50 million people in 45 countries are teetering on the edge of famine.” Another report shows that women and girls are disproportionately impacted particularly in low-and middle –income countries. It is likely that the situation will worsen in the months ahead.
Making food available to all citizens should be part of the primary function of the government. No country can achieve meaningful development without providing adequate nutrition for its citizens. Therefore, a food crisis in any country is a signpost for danger and calls for urgent action by all stakeholders, especially the government. Insecurity, political conflict, climate change, pandemics, and other destabilising factors have affected the production and circulation of food.
While the food crisis has been a recurring issue over the years, it has now reached a worrying dimension. The growing insecurity occasioned by the activities of marauding herdsmen, terrorists, militants, kidnappers and bandits might have prevented farmers from going to their farms. In 2020, terrorists gruesomely murdered farmers in their farms in Borno State.
According to the Nigerian security Tracker, “armed groups killed more than 128 farmers and kidnapped 37 others across Nigeria between January and June 2023.” Owing to these developments, many farmers are afraid to go to their farms and that is why there is food shortage. Inflation and high cost of living have helped to worsen the situation.
Farmers who manage to go to their farms and harvest their crops must necessarily pay high transport fares to get these food products to the market. Given the current devaluation of the naira, many families cannot afford the high cost of basic food items and this poses a problem for millions of Nigerians.
The federal and state governments should urgently respond to the food crisis in the country. President Bola Tinubu must put measures in place to avert the looming food crisis. The government must provide adequate security for farmers to enable them do their work effectively. Since insecurity is at the base of the food crisis in Nigeria, the earlier the government checks the menace, the better for the country. The government should ensure that farmers get interest-free loans to enable them produce more food. Government can as well subsidise their farm products.
Farming cannot be attractive to millions of young people when there are so many impediments to farming. If the government at various levels take farming seriously and rejig all the institutional instruments for effective farming, many young people will be encouraged to go into farming.