Our nation is at a critical juncture where the impact of economic crises, global challenges, tumbling currency, insecurity and climate change is affecting the ability of many citizens to feed themselves. The figures are striking. As of March 2024, the food inflation rate increased by 40.01 percent, which is about 15.56 percent higher than the March 2023 rate.
With the complexity and interdependence of the factors responsible for the current food crises, our approach to addressing them must go beyond the conventional means. We need a more agile approach to address the current food crises. An approach that can quickly adapt to our changing circumstances and effectively address the complex factors contributing to the crises. For this approach to be viable, it has to be rooted in three pivotal elements.
First, this approach must be holistic enough to consider the
challenges in every phase of our food system and account for their current
realities. This means that our approach must tackle the root causes of issues
in our production, aggregation, processing, distribution, consumption and
disposal, as well as ensure smooth, supportive, equitable coordination.
Issues of insecurity, such as kidnapping and farmer-herder
clashes, especially in rural communities, are some of the major factors that
have caused many farmers to abandon their farms and led to reduced food
production. This approach has to do everything to guarantee the safety of our
farmers. The recent setting up of “Agro Marshals” tasked with the responsibility
of safeguarding farmlands, schools and palaces in Ekiti State is a commendable
step that should be embraced by other states. It must be emphasized that State
or local government administrations will do a better job in this regard, as
each community possesses peculiar local situations that can be best understood
by its people.
In addition, federal or state administrations can complement
these efforts by harnessing the opportunities in technological advancement and
providing “emergency alarms or phones” for farmers. These devices can be used
to alert local security outfits immediately in case of insecurity. In
implementing this, the government must ensure proper coordination with
different security outfits and equitable distribution.
The impact of climate change on our food production is becoming
evident, with increasing cases of droughts, flooding and soil degradation in
different parts of the country. It is time to face this reality and begin to
prioritize climate change mitigation and adaptation measures. Many of the
current agricultural institutes were established because of challenges facing
the agricultural systems at some point in the past. Some of these challenges
are now antiquated. It is time to update the mandates of agricultural
institutes and institutions (or create new ones) to reflect today’s
challenges.
The impact of fuel subsidy removal on the distribution and
prices of food cannot be overstated. Embracing an agile approach might mean
setting up special channels for food transport across the country. Similar
approaches have been carried out in some developed countries and tagged with
names such as “Green Channel.” This might involve providing access to special
buses and trains that can assist farmers in moving their food items in groups
at subsidized costs.
Second, this approach must involve multidisciplinary
collaboration in tackling the different challenges facing our food system.
Leaving the task of addressing our current food insecurity solely to the
Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security is like trying to build a house with
just brick. While bricks are essential, a single material is not enough to
complete the project. Similarly, addressing our current food insecurity
challenges demands effective collaboration and input from almost all
ministries, agencies and parastatals. By utilizing a stakeholder engagement
model, each ministry can develop plans to support the Ministry of Agriculture.
Further, each state must develop a food system plan that details
its mechanism for food production, distribution, export, interventions and
regulation. This food system plan must include short, medium and long-term
priority actions for a sustainable food system in each state. Private sectors,
trade associations, civil society organizations and every stakeholder in the
value chain also have roles to play in this collaboration.
Finally, for this approach to be effective and sustainable, it
must be rooted in a commitment to the right of every Nigerian to adequate,
healthy and affordable food, regardless of their socio-economic status. The
right to adequate food is an agreement contained in many international
instruments and even in the constitution of our country. Article 16 (2) of our
1999 constitution rightly states that “The State shall direct its policy towards
ensuring: suitable and adequate shelter, suitable and adequate food, a
reasonable national minimum living wage, old age care and pensions, and
unemployment, sick benefits and welfare of the disabled are provided for all
citizens.”
This provision does not mandate the government to knock on every door of its citizens and share food items (except, of course, in unfortunate situations of war). However, it requires that the government must do everything in its capacity to ensure its citizens have the enabling environment and support to produce, distribute and access food.
It means we must create a food
system where profit does not take precedence over empathy and the right of
fellow citizens to food. The ripple effect of hoarding and hiking food prices, if
allowed to continue, will take its toll on everyone. Food is a necessity and
right, and depriving people of this right is also depriving them of the right
to live. Our state actors also have a significant role to play in protecting
this right through consumer protection actions.
An agile-based approach to our current food insecurity can also
be a means to reduce social inequalities in our communities. A common adage
among our people says that “if hunger is removed from poverty, then poverty
becomes insignificant.” If policymakers continue to look at food insecurity
from an agile-based perspective, we can solve many problems, including poverty
and insecurity, with one stone and be able to respond to newer problems.
We can come up with more holistic solutions that can renew the
hope of our people. We can use our current food crises as a catalyst for the
radical transformation of our food systems to a more sustainable, effective
system that can address current and future food insecurity and other interrelated
issues.
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Dahunsi, an agricultural consultant, writes from Ekiti State, Nigeria
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