LAGOS PLOUGHS THROUGH A FOOD REVOLUTION

The Lagos State government is committed to taming food insecurity, writes Abolaji Adeyeye

We all eat. Without food, man would never function optimally and continuous deprivation would only see the human population wilt away. That’s why oftentimes, hunger drives people into some inexplicable actions. Food is a necessity. It is not for nothing that the saying, ‘A hungry man is an angry man’ arose. But the truth is that the world is facing food insecurity. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), over 135 million people globally are expected to face acute food insecurity.

The solution is what to do to combat the looming crisis.

So, recently, the Lagos State government partnered with FAO to map out data related to arresting food insecurity. While some may consider such an occasion as a theoretical exercise, it is not at all trivial. Agriculture is not referred to as a science for nothing. While in the olden days, our forefathers tilled the land with minimum knowledge of its operation, modern science has sought to improve on what they knew about farming. Nowadays, from location, quality of soil, quality of seedling, to land preparation, planting, maintenance, harvesting, storage and eventual distribution and sale, every step of the way has benefitted and is benefiting from research. Such is the role of the FAO.

And it is pertinent to listen and assist the FAO to build local data capacity. It should be noted that FAO relies on data sourced from organisations and public data providers across the UN, NGOs, academia, private sector, and space agencies.

Highlighting the importance of the partnership at a recent training of the state’ Cadre Harmonise (CH) food and nutrition task force, the acting Programme Manager/CEO of the Lagos State Agricultural Development Authority (LSADA), Mrs Tawakalitu Kosoko, said that the state government is ready to support the federal government and international organisations in deriving food and nutrition security outcome indicators.

According to the Desk Officer, National Programme on Food Security (NPFS), Mrs Tosin Gansallo, CH is the unified tool for consensual analysis of acute food and nutrition insecurity which managed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and Union Economic Monetaire West Africa (UEMOA) within the Sahel and West Africa. The purpose of the CH is getting relevant data to reduce hunger in the land. This is a good move as when it comes to food security, all hands should be on deck.

And following from its tag as ‘Centre of Excellence’ it is good that Lagos has continued to be relentless in the field of agriculture. Whether it be farming – rice in the state, or partnering with Kebbi, owning farmlands in Osun, investing in coconuts which lies along its coastline and the value chain, and the wide gamut of animal husbandry which includes poultry, piggery and of course, aquaculture.

But it is not just that the state government merely continues with the inherited structures in the polity, it is advancing it. Just last week at a symposium held in Lagos, the governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, disclosed that Lagos is in partnership with the Kingdom of Netherlands to modernise farming. With the collaboration, the state would benefit the availability of good planting materials as well as farm equipment.

“This initiative will ensure that the citizens have a steady stream of income while overcoming the challenge of food scarcity and hunger, and I express my appreciation for the provision of the platform for the engagement of stakeholders in the Nigerian urban farming sector with special emphasis on the state,” said Sanwo-Olu.

“The government has embarked on various projects and programmes aimed at increasing food production as well as providing food security by laying more emphasis on areas where it has a comparative advantage.”

Responding, the Deputy Consul-General, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Arie Plieger, said his country will work with Lagos for growth in agriculture.

“The Netherlands government is ready to share its experience with the Lagos State government for a fruitful collaboration,” he said. “We are also ready to support Lagos and Nigeria in its ambition to become a sustainable smart house.”

But the good thing about Lagos is that it is not content with the excuse that it has little land. With a series of training in both plant and animal farming, Lagos State has invested and continues to invest in the lives of farmers, especially the youths. The state has also financed their agro-businesses.

Only last year, Governor Sanwo-Olu predicted that the state would earn over $10bn from agriculture. This was at the inauguration of the state’s five-year Agricultural and Food Systems Roadmap in Lagos in April 2021. By this estimation, there has to be major emphasis on agriculture if that goal is to be realised.

“The focus of the five-year roadmap is to develop the agricultural value chains where Lagos State has competitive and comparative advantages,” said Sanwo-Olu at the forum.

“It will help to enhance the state’s self-sufficiency in food production from 18 per cent to 40 per cent and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in Lagos State.

“The roadmap is, therefore, the most appropriate tool needed to unleash the capacity to produce the most-consumed agricultural products in the state and to accelerate the establishment of farms and agri-businesses.”

Sanwo-Olu then explained that the road map would include the State Aquatic Centre of Excellence (LACE) which would boost fish production from 20 percent to 80 percent, the Imota Rice Mill, the Lagos Food Production Centre Avia, Igborosu-Badagry and other agro initiatives.

One of such initiatives is the Lagos State Agripreneurship Programme (LAP), an agro-empowerment programme open to residents who are aged between 18 and 35 with a minimum educational qualification of Senior Secondary School Certificate. The aim of LAP is to reduce the high rate of unemployment in the state, improving capacity and wealth creation.

In its pilot in 2021, 300 participants were chosen, out of which 240 were drafted in learning aquaculture while 60 learnt poultry at the designated state facilities. At the end of the programme, the Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms. Abisola Olusanya, said that 240 aquaculture students would be empowered with 700 juveniles, 25 bags of feed as well as medications, while the 60 poultry students would be given 480 points of lay, 100 bags of feed and medication valued at N380, 000 and N1.8 million per participant. In the second phase of the LAP, the training has been extended to include Piggery, Vegetable Value Chain and Agribusiness. The programme has waxed stronger that it recently started a collaboration with Graduate Internship Placement Programme from the Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment.

Another programme the state is involved with is the Agricultural Youth Empowerment Scheme (Agric-YES) which is targeted at encouraging secondary school students to take to agriculture.

With a landmass of 3,345 square kilometres, making it the smallest state in Nigeria, and population of over 20 million, Lagos is under pressure to attain food security. It is still grappling with it, but the administration must be commended for tackling it with its continuous focus on agriculture. With massive resources being deployed to the agriculture sector by Lagos to encourage entrepreneurship, it can only get better.