Food,
one of the basic necessities of life is needed for the sustenance of life.
Thus, the goal of a good government especially on agricultural transformation
is the attainment of food sufficiency through the promotion and implementation
of good agricultural programmes. Nigeria, like every other developing country
since independence struggles to provide sufficient food for her citizen. Nigeria
with about 140 million people (2006, Population Census) is facing a deepening
food crisis.
Food Security and its manifestations
in Nigeria: In the Agricultural Trade
Development
Assistance
Act of 1990, it is seen as “access by all people at all times to sufficient
food and nutrition for healthy and productive life”. USAID Bureau for Africa
sees food security as a situation “when all people at all times have access to
sufficient food security to meet their dietary needs for a productive and
healthy life.
Food
security was defined in the 1974 by World Food Summit as “availability at all
times of adequate world food supplies of basic foodstuffs to sustain a steady
of expansion of food consumption and to offset fluctuations in production and
prices”.
In
1983, FAO expanded its concept to include security access by vulnerable people
to available supplies, implying that attention should be balanced between the demand
and supply side of food security equation. This definition was again refined in
the Food Security 2000 as “ a situation that exists when all people at all
times have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutrition
food that meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy
life.
There are four dimensions to this: (i)
availability of sufficient amount of food which is a function of food
production (ii) stability of supply over time which depends on the ability to
preserve/store produced food and supplement available food through imports if
necessary (iii) access to the available food which depends on income levels and
its distribution and (iv) food utilization which encompasses procurement,
ingestion and digestion all of which are dependent on nutritional quality,
education and health.
The Understanding of any concept/topic starts
with definition of terms.
Food:
This is any substance, solid or liquid which when ingested and absorbed gives
nutrient to the body
Nutrition:
This is the science of food and its constituents, as to how it is being
ingested, digested, absorbed and
utilized in the body to promote optimum growth and development.
Concept: this
can be said to be an idea, strategy or plan to achieve a desired goal.
ISSUES FACING FOOD AND NUTRITION IN
NIGERIA
Since
the beginning of colonial rule, shortage of food in Nigeria has become more recurrent
to the extent that at present, it has reached a stage of crisis. This has
manifested in various forms such as stagnation in agricultural production, the
growing dependence on food importation, increasing and prohibitive food prices,
low nutritional standards and so on. Agriculture which was the backbone of
Nigerian economy at independence began to decline owing to the increased
importance of oil in the economy in the 1970s and 1980s even up till today. It
is very pathetic that Nigeria which was an exporter of food in the 1960s became
a net importer of food in the 1970s.
This
was due largely to the neglect of the agricultural sector. The contribution of
agricultural sector to the country’s GDP has continued to drop. For example, the GDP dropped from 63% in 1960
to 12.6% in 1982. In the area of food production, the story has been one of
stagnation and decline. For instance, in 1960, food production grew at almost 4%
per annum compared with an annual population growth of about 3% between 1960
and 1967
From
that time up till 1970, food situation in the country has worsened to the
extent that it dropped to a net -15% between 1970 and 1977. The implication of
the high food import bill was that substantial portion of the much needed
foreign exchange meant for importing capital goods for developmental purposes
were spent on food importation. Despite the two major agricultural policies of
Operation Feed the Nation and Green Revolution Programme launched in 1976 and
1980 by Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo and Alhaji Sheu Shagari respectively to increase
food production, attainment of self-sufficiency in food supply and
self-reliance in food production, the situation was far from being abated.
Even
as at today, the situation has not changed. This is observed from the statement
of the CBN Governor, Mr. Lamido Sanusi when he spoke at the Northern Nigeria
Economic Summit organized by the Northern Political Summit Group otherwise known
as “G20” at Kaduna that Nigeria spent ₦155 billion on rice importation in 2010.
While presenting the Lead paper titled “Mobilizing Capital for Transformation
of Northern Nigeria”, he wondered why Nigeria should be a major importer of
rice when it had good climate and resources to produce staple food locally.
The
escalation of food prices, severe food scarcity and poor harvest losses are
another major aspects of the manifestation of food insecurity in Nigeria is
food insecure because domestic aggregate production of food grows at slower
rate than the population. He therefore opined that Nigeria’s food production
was not balance since demand side was greater than the supply side. The
Nigerian Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Prof. Sheikh Abdullah
disclosed in an interview with the New Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Thursday 5th
May, 2011 on the global food price increases which he hinged on some factors
among which were, high population growth, low income, land constraints and under
investment in rural infrastructure, poor agricultural mechanization and limited
farmer’s access to agricultural inputs. He also said that due to this
development, some states in the country recorded poor harvest occasioned by
natural disasters such as flooding, inadequate farm input and declining interest
in agriculture, particularly among youths. He submitted that the high cost of food
constitutes an “inherent” danger to nation security and thus the need to
address the threat was urgent because of its contribution to the GDP and employment
opportunities.
Food
nutrition is another aspect of the manifestation of food insecurity in Nigeria.
This can be measured through the use of calorie, protein and vitamins intake per
day per person. In 1997, the UNDP reported that the average daily calorie
intake in Nigeria was 2125kcal which was less than the daily recommended
average of 2550kcal minimum standard. Egbuna, 2001 also emphasized that other food
values such as protein, vitamin and minerals also fall below the component
dietary requirement in Nigeria. Food security situation has not improved in
Nigeria despite previous government efforts because of some factors among which
is the ineffective and inconsistency in agricultural food policy.
SOME FOOD AND NUTRITION POLICIES AND
PROGRAMMES IN NIGERIA
The River Basin Development Authority (RBDA):
was first conceived in 1963 with the involvement of the Lake Chad Basin and
River Niger Commissions for countries bordering on Lake and the Niger River. The
concept was first tried in 1973 with the establishment of the Sokoto-Rima and the
Chad Basin Development Authorities. Eleven others were set up under Degree Nos
25 and 31 of 1976 and 1977 respectively all over the country. These were Sokoto-Rima
(for Sokoto), Hadjia-Jamare (for Kano), the Chad (for Borno), the Upper Benue (for Gongola), the
Lower Belt (for Benue and Plateau), the Cross River (for Cross River), the Ogun-Osun
(for Oyo, Ogun and Lagos), the Benin-Owena (for Bendel and Ondo) and the Niger
Delta (for Rivers). The RBDA was
expected to cater for the development of land and water resources potentials of
Nigeria for agricultural purposes and general rural development. The RBDA did
not yield much result. If they did, the federal military government that came
on board would not have ordered their fold-up. The activities of RBDA were
hindered as a result of inadequate planning data, shortage of funds, difficulties
in securing land for development especially in the South, shortage of qualified
and experienced technical and professionals.
Operation Feed the Nation (OFN)
In
1976, Operation Feed the Nation (OFN) was launched by Obasanjo regime for the
purpose of increasing food production and attaining self-sufficient in food supply.
People were encouraged to grow their own food irrespective of their occupation.
Government made effort to subsidized essential farm inputs like fertilizer,
livestock feed, pesticide, farm implements among others. The effect of OFN as a
development strategy was not as profound as it initiators may want people to
believe. The programme, although succeeded in creating awareness to the citizenry
about food shortage and how to fight against the problem, the programme did not
actually achieved its set goals due to poor implementation and funding.
Besides, the subsidized fertilizers meant for farmers got into wrong hands.
Green Revolution Programme
The
Green Revolution Programme was launched in 1980 following the return to civil
rule after thirteen years of military interregnum under the leadership of President
Alhaji Shehu Shagari. The objective of the programme was centred on self-reliance
in food production and the diversification of Nigeria’s sources of exchange.
The programme covered all areas of agricultural production, food and export
crops, livestock, fisheries and forestry.
The
programme provides generous supply of fertilizers, which the construction of
rural physical infrastructures were embarked upon through massive federal funds
allocation. The programme recorded some positive results as there was increase in
cultivated land hectares, livestock, forestry and fishery production. The
effect of the achievements of the programme was short-lived due to shortage of funds,
mismanagement and fraud, poor and lack of thorough research and extension
services, problem of land acquisition, inadequate data, and lack of infrastructural
facilities. Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP)
Between
1986 and 1993, a number of programmes were introduced by General Babangida regime
to support agricultural development. They were, first, the Structural
Adjustment Programme (SAP), which was meant to deregulate and stimulate local
production. Though SAP in principle was a good
programme, the then government was not committed to its faithful
implementation, and second, the Directorate of Foods, Roads and Rural Infrastructure
(DIFRRI). DIFRRI was a laudable programme which was aimed at alleviating poverty
and hunger. The purpose of DIFRRI was to open-up rural areas, construct feeder
roads and bridges, water supply among others which in turn would help to promote
agricultural development. The programme eventually failed because the officials
in charge of it became corrupt and thus the programme lost its focus.
Government
budget for agriculture over the years by successive governments is an
indication that frantic effort has not been made to tackle the problem of food
security in the country. Poor funding is said to be one of the major problems which
hindered the successful implementation of various agricultural policies and
programmes that have been formulated in the country.
Another
major reason for lack of successful implementation of some agricultural
policies geared towards food sufficiency in the country is mismanagement. Nigeria
is blessed and endowed with fertile land for agricultural development.
Various
regimes in the country over the years were guilty of awarding contracts and
making payment while concrete efforts were not made to adequately supervise and
monitor such projects. Sincerely, majority of the projects are either abandoned
or uncompleted
It
is abundantly clear from the above discourse that over the years, Nigeria has
been battling with problem of food sufficiency. Despite various policies and
programmes being formulated to tackle the perennial food crisis, the situation
is far from being abated. The ugly situation is hinged on the absence of good
governance which manifests itself in various forms such as corruption, mismanagement,
lack of political leadership, maladministration, and so on. Good governance considering
its characteristics and principles is critical to the attainment of food
sufficiency in Nigeria. The absence of good governance over the years has been
the bane of food security in the country.
