REJUVENATING NIGERIA’S AGRIC SECTOR AS WE MARK WORLD FOOD DAY
By Fred Nwaozor
The last time I
checked, October 16 each year remained the World Food Day. It suffices to say
that today being Monday, the world over is celebrating the 2017 edition of World
Food Day.
It is a day of action dedicated to tackling global hunger. The focus of
the day is that food is a basic and fundamental human right. Yet, in a world
of billions, 805 million people worldwide live with chronic hunger, 60% women
and almost five million children under the age of five die of
malnutrition-related causes every day.
Due to the inevitable impact of food on mankind, the World Food Day
(WFD) was established during the 20th General Conference of the Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) in November 1945.
During the conference, all the Member States of FAO resolved that October 16
each year should be commemorated as World Food Day; the day was meant to
coincide with the anniversary of the founding date of the organization - FAO.
The theme of this year’s commemoration is ‘Change the future of
migration in saving food security and rural development’. This implies that
incessant migration witnessed in the world overtime can only be controlled
aptly by ensuring that food security cum rural development is assured.
In the
history of mankind, no one has ever boasted of living a healthy life without an
adequate food on his/her table. This implies that a healthy living is not
unconnected with consumption of the required dietary. Food, which remains one
of the three basic needs of man on earth, can only be acquired or guaranteed
via thorough participation in agricultural practices. No doubt, agriculture is
an integral part of human existence considering that it is the only means that
can guarantee the three paramount needs of man, which are: food, clothing and
shelter.
Obviously,
several societies in the world depend solely on agriculture as regards
Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), and creation of employment opportunities.
Such societies jealously safeguard it because they acknowledge it is the most
affordable and assessable source of revenue within the reach of man. This is a
clear indication that agriculture can function as a revenue source as well as
means of survival. Needless to assert that sustenance of agriculture remains
one of the prime desires of any rational and vision-oriented society in
existence, and Imo wouldn’t be an exception.
Owing to its challenges, including lack of
access to mechanize farming, undesirable topography, poor climatic condition,
unavailability of land, poor soil texture, insufficient funds, et cetera, many
prospective farmers in most developing nations, like Nigeria, have over the
years lost interest in agriculture, thereby endangering the socio-economic
status of the affected nations. It’s not anymore news that lack of
participation in either subsistence or commercial farming among the populace of
a certain country invariably leads to malnutrition and tremendous decline in
the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country.
The
most devastating aspect of apathy in agriculture is the one observed amongst
the youth as a result of their eager and unending quest for non-existing white-collar
jobs. To say the least, the ongoing lack of enthusiasm among the young ones, in
the area of farming, contributed immensely to the current scarcity of food in
Nigeria. History indicates that between 2011 and 2013, a total of eight hundred
and forty-two (842) million individuals, or about one in every eight persons in
the world, were estimated to be suffering from chronic hunger. This signifies
that the said set of people was not regularly getting enough food for
themselves to carry out their active life activities.
It’s not anymore news that in
the recent times, climate change has remained one of the greatest challenges in
this part of the world. One of the biggest issues related to climate change is
food security. The world’s poorest – many of whom are farmers, fishers, and
hunters – are being hit hardest by higher temperatures and an increasing
frequency in weather-related disasters.
At the same time, the global population is skyrocketing and is expected
to reach 9.6 billion by 2050. To meet such a heavy demand, agriculture and food
systems will need to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change and become
more resilient, productive, and sustainable. This is the only way we can ensure
the general wellbeing of ecosystems and rural settlements, as well as reduce
emissions.
Growing food in a sustainable way means
adopting practices that produce more with less input, in the same area of land,
and use natural resources wisely. It also means reducing food losses before the
final product or retail stage through a number of initiatives, including better
harvesting, storage, packaging, transport, infrastructure, and market
mechanisms, coupled with institutional and legal frameworks. FAO is using this
period to call on countries to address food and agriculture in their climate
action plans and invest meaningfully in rural development.
So, as Nigeria join the global community to
celebrate the 2017 annual World Food Day, I urge the government to be more
proactive with a view to ensuring that the bane of the country’s agricultural
institution is thoroughly addressed. This can be made possible by providing the
needed support for any genuine prospective farmer, such as soft loan with zero interest
rates, arable land, enabling environment, or what have you, as the case may be.
The government should equally subsidize the
prices of farming machinery/equipment to enable every commercial farmer in the
country purchase them without much ado. In the same vein, the ongoing
restriction of importation of goods and services into the country must be duly
strengthened and intensified by the apt authorities such as the Customs
Service, among others, toward increasing the level of demand on locally-made
commodities. There ought to also be an increased awareness among the populace in
various quarters on the need to patronize indigenous commodities at all times.
On their part, the farmers ought to, from
time to time, validate the membership of all their members, and also encourage
the upcoming ones to register, to enable the government or any concerned
corporate body to easily assess them as well as ascertain the genuineness of
anyone who claims to be a practising farmer.
They should also sensitize their members on the need for specialization
towards boosting production. Farmers need to concentrate on a particular crop
or livestock farming, as the case might be, to enable them obtain a desirable
outcome. After creating a sound foundation, any farmer can in the future
consider practising mixed farming.
Governments at all levels should
as well endeavour to own and manage various mechanized farms in their
respective jurisdictions with a view to supplementing the privately owned ones.
They mustn’t leave everything for the private sector, in order to ensure
adequate price regulation on the goods and services. Such measure would also intensify
the ongoing diversification mantra, thereby boosting massive employment
opportunities for our teeming youths.
In view of this, every agriculture ministry is expected to boast of
staff that are qualified in various agricultural disciplines, rather than
professionals from other areas. And, every staff must be prepared to go to the
field.
Above all, there’s a compelling
need for Agricultural Science to be studied by every high school student in
Nigeria as a core subject, and equally sit for it during their School
Certificate examinations. There’s also need for all the tertiary institutions
in the country to introduce Agric Science in their schools as a general course
for every first year student; there would be need for a formidable legal backing
towards ensuring the effectiveness of this measure.
Inter alia, the government and
non-governmental organizations, among other stakeholders, should endeavour to
continually grant bursary to the undergraduates studying Agric Science or any
agric-related discipline towards encouraging prospective ones. Hence, the
various relevant civil society groups operating in the country are required to
solicit for this on behalf of the students. Let’s sacrifice now and enjoy
forever. Think about it!
Comrade Nwaozor, Public Affairs
analyst &
Civil Rights activist, is the Executive Director, Docfred
Resource Hub - Owerri
(frednwaozor@gmail.com)
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