As a result of soaring prices of essential food items in the country, exacerbated by insecurity and inflation, President Bola Tinubu has declared a ‘national emergency on food security’. The President unveiled the initiative meant to boost massive food production through expanded irrigation infrastructure and management of water resources at the opening of the 6th African Regional conference on irrigation and drainage in Abuja, last week. Represented at the event by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, the Federal Government acknowledged that there is acute food crisis and the urgent need to address food insecurity through massive irrigation infrastructure and participatory water resources management nationwide.
It is ironical that Nigeria has over 84 million hectares of arable land across the basins of Rivers Niger and Benue, the second largest in Africa after Egypt, and eleventh globally, yet the country is experiencing one of its worst food insecurity in decades. The bold initiative by the government will hopefully help to eradicate hunger in the country as recommended by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
There is no doubt that food security is crucial to Nigeria’s overall development. Food security in the country will positively affect health, economic growth, and social stability. When food security is high, people have access to nutritious food for healthier citizens and increased productivity.
In addition, food security will largely reduce dependence on foreign imports. According to the Quarterly statistics of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), food imports for 2023 stood at N30trillion. Reducing the nation’s food imports will free up resources to develop other sectors.
No doubt, the expansion of irrigation infrastructure will stimulate farming at all seasons and boost food production. It will ensure more reliable and productive agriculture, especially in areas with unpredictable rainfall or limited water access. This will allow farmers to cultivate crops consistently that will result in higher yields and increase food availability and contribute to greater food sufficiency.
Available statistics from the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) indicate that expanded irrigation infrastructure can increase food production by 100 to 400 per cent. Irrigated land is known to be more than twice as productive as rain-fed cropland, and contributes 40 per cent of the global food supply. In Nigeria, water scarcity is a critical constraint to food production, and a major cause of poverty and hunger in the country. Therefore, the present effort to ensure better management of water resources to produce enough food for Nigerians should be supported with adequate funding.
A nation that cannot feed its people is at risk of potential social unrest. The present rise in food prices resulting from high food importation that has been blamed on flooding, insecurity and climate change impacts, should be addressed. Both federal and state governments should set the right framework, policies and incentives towards boosting food production through huge investment in the agricultural sector. The nation’s huge food import is disturbing and unacceptable. It is a drain on the nation’s scarce foreign reserves which has experienced a huge decline in recent months.
Available figures show that Nigeria is not growing enough food to feed its citizens, leaving the country with no option but to import essential food items. Unfortunately, the N1.08trillion that CBN disbursed in seven years under the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) to farmers to boost rice production did not achieve the desired results. Reversing Nigeria’s food import dependency and increasing local food production for domestic consumption is must be prioritized.
In 2023, the Tinubu administration reportedly acquired 500,000 hectares of land across the country for aggressive agricultural cultivation. The government should invest more in agric business and mechanised agriculture. Currently, Nigeria lacks an effective agric extension programmes that will expand the utilisation of technology in agriculture. However, the absence of consistent policies that will enhance access and adoption of technology in agriculture has hindered progress in food security.
This calls for a reawakening of agricultural programmes that should be targeted specifically to smallholder farmers who must be provided with generous loans at low interest rates, with repayment spread over a reasonable tenor. Nigeria must restore its previous pristine position in agricultural products such as cassava, yam, rice, palm oil, vegetables, maize, plantain and others. That is one of the best ways to reduce the present high forex spent on food importation.