Food Insecurity in Nigeria - Essay Example

?Introduction Food security can be defined as the availability of sufficient supply of healthy food in a society, which may be a nation, household oran entire geographical region. The lack of this basic commodity leads to a situation whereby people are undernourished, livestock die from lack of food and water, food prices go up among other consequences. If a country is experiencing these factors, then, it is said to have food insecurity, which could be seasonal or long-term. Current statistics indicate that more than 900 million people worldwide are suffering from acute food shortage such that they are suffering from extreme hunger and malnutrition, with majority of them residing in regions such as Asia and Africa (Shaw 2010). This paper is a critical evaluation of food insecurity in Nigeria, detailing the causes, effects as well as responses being made to solve the dilemma. Food Insecurity in Nigeria Nigeria is a West African country, where food insecurity has continued to compromise the health and lives of citizens especially children, who are most vulnerable. Statistics indicate that more than 40% of children in the country are suffering from chronic malnutrition, which is a major threat to the future of this generation (Omotor 2009). This is due to the fact that malnutrition is a common recipe for poor growth and development in children, which may lead to poor academic performance and intellectual development. It is sad to note that the government of Nigeria is doing little to rescue these children. One way of doing this would be to introduce a free feeding system in government schools, whereby these children would be provided at least with a single meal containing all the basic requirements of a balanced diet. In this context, the government should observe what countries such as Ghana are dealing with malnutrition in school going children. Apparently, Ghana has already put the system to work, with the government allocating $347.4 million to the program, which will be running for 5 years (Alderman 2009). It is said that the government of Nigeria had plans to execute a similar program but it has been observed that such a plan was never implemented hence the high rate of malnutrition in children. It may be important to note that approximately 60% of Nigeria’s population is malnourished (Omotor 2009). Rural urban migration in Nigeria is also a problem, which has contributed significantly to food insecurity in the country. This is due to the fact that it encourages the movement of young and able bodied citizens from the rural areas, leaving the weak and the vulnerable people to engage in food production. It is important to note that, in order to realize viable food production, a farmer requires putting a lot of efforts in caring for the crops thus the need for manpower to perform activities such as weeding, spraying pesticides, harvesting among others. In this context, Nigerian farmers in the rural areas are faced with scarcity of human resources, which has resulted to an increase in wages demanded by manual laborers, who take advantage of the high demand for their services. Consequently, this has made it difficult for farmers to afford the costs, especially due to the poverty factor, such that they have developed a habit of skipping these important activities (Olayemi 2003). The government has played a major role in facilitating this problem due to the fact that it has neglected the rural areas by failing to improve social amenities and infrastructure, which has continued to discourage people, especially young school leavers, from settling in these areas. Lack of decentralization of resources and Corruption in the government have been identified as major contributing factors, which have slowed down development such that majority of roads especially in the rural areas are in total disrepair or absent all together. With impassable roads, it becomes difficult and expensive to transport farm products form producing areas to the markets, which combined with high fuel prices results to increased food prices in the city and lack of interest by farmers, who end up engaging in subsistence farming. According to reports, the discovery of oil in the country has diverted the attention of the government from agriculture, which is considered as having been the backbone of the country’s economy. Doing so means that few resources are directed towards agricultural research, provision of subsidized farm inputs, such as fertilizers, machinery, pesticides among others, and extension services thereby transferring the burden to the already poor society. It may be ironic to observe that, 54% of Nigerians, despite the presence of oil, live below the poverty line thereby raising questions as to why the government is concentrating much of its attention in this natural resource (Omotor 2009). In fact, critics observe that this overdependence on oil has contributed significantly to food importation despite having large quantities of arable land. It is estimated that the government spends more than $3 million on food importation annually, which could be reduced significantly if the government commits itself in promoting agriculture (Omotor 2009). Human activities throughout the world have continued to pose a challenge on the environment, by creating atmospheric imbalances (Behnassi et al. 2011). These have in turn resulted to climatic changes and to a greater extent, global warming. In Nigeria for example, it has been observed that drought and desertification have continued to expose citizens especially in northern parts of the country. It has been noted that some of the major causes of this problem are overgrazing and deforestation as well as immigration, which has necessitated the encroachment of forests and water catchment areas for human settlement. According to reports, desertification is extending at a significantly high rate i.e. approximately 0.6 Km per year to the south of the country (Olayemi 2003). The government has done little to deal with this problem meaning that there is a possibility that the communities in these affected areas will soon be left without arable lands whereby they will have to depend on humanitarian aid so as to survive the effects of drought. In addition, these areas have also been receiving high levels of destructive rainfall leading to flooding, which usually destroys food crops leaving the farmers with no hopes of harvesting. Having understood that there is a problem, the government should come up with a strategy aimed at controlling pastoral activities so as to reduce overgrazing, which destroys soil cover thereby facilitating soil erosion. Deforestation in these areas should also be banned or else motivate people to conduct agro-forestry both to protect the soil and to increase forest cover. Lack of adequate food storage facilities is also considered to be a major setback in protecting citizens against hunger (Olayemi 2003). Whenever there is a food crisis, the government should have sufficient supply of food, which would be distributed to assist vulnerable homesteads from increased food prices. In addition, the government would be in a capacity to buy food especially grains from farmers at a fair price thereby protecting them from cartels, who take advantage of their poverty to buy food at cheap prices only to sell it later at exorbitant prices. Reports indicate that post harvest losses in the country are as high as 30% most probably due to this factor as well as overdependence on sun drying (Omotor 2009). As it stands, the government is in a low capacity to deal with emergencies as it has little food reserves whereas a vast majority are continuing to produce food at a subsistence level, meaning that if one season fails to receive rainfall, especially due to the fact that majority of farmers depend on rainfall, then, a natural disaster would have to be declared. However, it is worth noting that the government has already acknowledged the fact that there is need to improve food security in the country and as such, it has been responding in various ways. For example, the government in 2001, through the ministry of agriculture, came up with a National Special Program for Food Security, which was aimed at increasing food security in the country, whereby $360 million was needed to facilitate the said goal (FAO, n.d). Apparently, the government intended to utilize this project in ensuring that food insecurity in the country is reduced by 50% by the end of the year 2015. Most notably is the fact that the project has gained popularity among the international community and organizations, who have gone ahead to grant funds and technical assistance in its support. China for example offered more than 500 personnel to assist the locals in developing their agricultural activities so as to improve the quality and quantity of their production (FAO, n.d). The government also created a new department under the ministry of agriculture i.e. the National Food Reserve Agency, whose mandate among other targets was to engage in capacity building and overseeing the commercialization of agriculture, so as to maximize food production and returns on investment. To achieve this, it has opened storage sites throughout the country, where it hopes to store at least 5% of the food which may be required in the event of a food crisis (FAO, n.d). In this context, food will be bought directly from farmers at fair prices and redistributed at no additional costs, which would help in stabilizing food prices in the country. It will also facilitate mechanization and building of infrastructure to lower the cost of production thereby motivating farmers to produce more. Despite these efforts, it is important to note that the gravity of food insecurity in the country and the underlying factors contributing to the condition still continue to haunt Nigerians. This is due to the fact that, corruption has continued to persist, the population migrating to urban areas is also increasing and the government is making little efforts to solve these problems. The National Special Program for Food Security is only available to less than 800000 households, in a country which has a population of approximately 155 million people comprising of approximately 90 million i.e. 60% undernourished citizens (Behnassi et al. 2011). The government therefore has a lot to do such as creating employment, banning forest degradation and encourage soil conservation, promoting irrigation, providing free school feeding systems among other developments. Conclusion Food insecurity is a global problem, which is affecting each and every nation though at different levels. More than 900 million people worldwide are faced with extreme hunger. Nigeria as an entity has more than 60% of its citizens suffering from food insecurity, with 11% of children being undernourished. Food insecurity in this country is as a result of reasons such as; rural urban migration, corruption, poor infrastructure, overdependence on non-renewable resources, inadequate storage facilities, drought and desertification, among others. The government has responded mainly by instituting a National Special Program for Food Security and creation of the National Food Reserve Agency. However, these are basic foundations to a better solution. Comprehensive reforms in all sectors must be done in order to solve the problem amicably. Bibliography Alderman, H. (2009). Food Security and Grain Trade in Ghana, Cornell Food and Nutrition Policy Program. Behnassi, M., Draggan, S. & Yaya, S. (2011). Global Food Insecurity: Rethinking Agricultural and Rural Development Paradigm and Policy, Springer. FAO (n.d). Special Program for Food Security. [Internet], Available from: (Accessed 21 March 2011). Olayemi, J. (2003). Food Security in Nigeria, Development Policy Centre. Omotor, G. (2009). Food Security and Nutrition Trend in Nigeria. African Journal of Food and Nutritional Sciences, 1(5) pp.100-117. Shaw, D. (2010). World Food Security, Palgrave Macmillan. Read More