TACKLING NIGERIA’S FOOD CRISIS: WHY IMPORTATION IS NOT THE ANSWER

Insight101WithCCFrancis (#610)

Imagine a country with over 70.8 million hectares of fertile farmland, capable of producing a surplus of food to feed the entire African continent, yet, its government chooses to import food, abandoning its farmers and agricultural potential. This is the shocking reality in Nigeria, where the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, has announced that N2 trillion will be allocated for food importation.

This decision is a slap in the face to Nigerian farmers, who toil daily to produce food for the nation. It’s a blatant disregard for our agricultural potential, opting for the easy way out – importation. The Minister’s priorities are clear: padding his résumé rather than serving the nation.

The Hon Minister continues to perpetuate his shortsightedness by his decision in trying to resolve the artificial food scarcity plaguing our country. The Minister’s decision raises questions: Is he unaware of the root causes of this crisis? Is he oblivious our farmers are under constant attack, all in the name of terrorism and banditry?

In tackling the food crises in Nigeria, the Hon Minister should declare a state of food emergency. Here are tips that, if implemented and deployed, could salvage the nation from the disaster of food crises:

1. Implement policies that improve our agricultural status.
2. Provide security for food produced by farmers.
3. Work with the security agencies and provide apparatus to safeguard the lives of farmers.
4. Deploy strategies to move farming settlements southward, away from volatile areas.
5. Prioritise local production over importation.
6. Empowerment of local farmers through easy access to 0% interest loans, fertilizers and equipment through a well-structured cooperative.
7. Work with the Ministry of Works to road network.
8. Relate more with local farmers through their traditional leaders, for easy accountability and supervision.
9. Provide incentives to encourage the youths to take up farming.
10. Go wild with publicity.

The honorable thing for the Minister to do is resign if his tank has run out of gas instead of clinging on to power while Nigerians suffer from hunger. We must speak out against this incompetence and demand a better future for our farmers and nation, because Nigeria’s food importation fiasco is a shocking betrayal of our agricultural potential.

I am CC Francis

…Always better than yesterday