The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, has attributed poor farm harvests and the displacement of farmers in recent years to the increasing insecurity across the country. Abbas, who also identified rural-urban migration, dependence on oil, and climate change as factors threatening food security, warned against the “quick-money syndrome” among young Nigerians....Read Full Article >>➤
The Speaker made these remarks on Thursday in Abuja at the 22nd Daily Trust Dialogue. Represented by the Chairman of the House Committee on Food and Nutrition, Chike Okafor, the Speaker said, “We cannot effectively discuss issues impacting poor agricultural yield and food insecurity in Nigeria without mentioning the devastating effect of insecurity, particularly in farming communities.
“Insecurity in Nigeria has led to a decline in agricultural productivity, the displacement of farmers, and poor yields.
“Today, the Federal Government is making every possible effort to address this and ensure that farmers return to their communities and lands, as the decline in productivity leads to food shortages and economic loss for both the country and the farmers.
“Insecurity has also made it difficult for Nigeria to achieve its national goal of becoming a hunger-free nation, as displaced farmers can no longer farm, and those who can are prevented from harvesting their crops. In some parts of the country, non-state actors hold farmers to ransom, demanding all manner of taxes before allowing them to harvest.”
He also called for collective efforts to address poor farm yields, stating, “I believe we must collectively strive to enhance agricultural production, lower costs, and build the infrastructure needed for the agricultural and allied sectors to thrive.
“I do not believe food security is a privilege; it is a fundamental right. No citizen of our dear country should go to bed hungry because of the contest between availability and affordability.
“With the right focus, which is now being driven by the renewed hope programme and strongly supported by our legislative agenda, I firmly believe food insecurity in Nigeria will become history. We are not far from achieving this. For us in the House of Representatives, we are ready to partner with the media on any legislation that may arise from this dialogue to ensure food security in Nigeria.”
Speaking on the theme, “Food Security: Availability or Affordability?” Abbas urged action to increase Nigerians’ purchasing power in response to the issues they are currently grappling with.
“With the saying that hunger is an injustice in a world of abundance, this topic could not have been timelier. The issues for interrogation, and for which we must find answers, are relevant and timely as Nigeria continues to grapple with high inflation, which significantly impacts citizens’ purchasing power and exacerbates food insecurity,” he added.
While acknowledging that food insecurity “has long been a challenge in Nigeria,” Abbas highlighted that it is driven by factors such as general insecurity, the unavailability of infrastructure to scale up production, and economic instability.
According to the Speaker, “The greatest culprit has been years of diverted focus from the agricultural sector. These are years when we, as a nation, shifted our focus from agriculture and its potential to drive the national economy, and focused more on the petroleum sector.”
He lamented that despite the country’s fertile arable land, which is estimated to cover an area of 36.9 million hectares, its large and young population, and efforts by past administrations to rejuvenate the agricultural sector, “The sector still contributes under 30 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product.”
In his words, “This not only has economic implications but also consequences for our national food security.”
With the majority of farming in Nigeria still heavily reliant on manual labour, Abbas said, “The exodus of able-bodied individuals to cities has led to a sharp decline in the rural workforce,” adding, “This not only hinders our ability, as a people, to cultivate and harvest crops efficiently but also threatens food security and economic stability in rural communities.”
He emphasised the efforts of the 10th House to change the narrative, saying, “We have identified challenges such as insecurity, lack of technology, and inadequate funding. But we are not resting on problem identification. We are more proactive in designing solutions. Our proposed solutions involve a multipronged legislative approach, executive willpower, and stakeholder collaboration.” ...Read Full Article >>➤
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