Beyond the State of Emergency on Food Security

President Bola Tinubu may have scored another big point with the last week’s declaration of a state of emergency on food security. However, analysts argue that with farmers contending with issues like insecurity, poor storage activities, dilapidated roads and high cost of transportation, among others, it will take more than a mere declaration to make food abundant in Nigeria, reports  Festus Akanbi

At last, the federal government appears to have come to terms with insufficient food and its attendant spiralling costs in the country as President Bola Tinubu last week declared a state of emergency on food security in the country.

Obviously, the desperate measure is a sequel to observed food inflation across the 36 states of the federation and Abuja which observers said was worsened by the removal of fuel subsidy and the corresponding increase in pump prices.

In the latest intervention, the government listed measures that include the introduction of the culture of all-year-round farming, the creation of special purpose vehicles, like the commodity board, to liberalise the food production value chain, the immediate activation of land banks across the country, as well as putting an end to the age-long and problematic nomadic animal husbandry, which would be replaced with government-managed ranching. 

Food Crisis

For a nation in the throes of biting inflation, the state of emergency in food production is long overdue. According to the National Bureau of Statistics Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Inflation Report for May 2023, Nigeria’s headline inflation rate increased from 22.22 per cent in April to 22.41% on a year-on-year basis in May 2023 despite several monetary measures by the central bank to tame the rising rates.

Details of the report showed that food and non-alcoholic beverages (11.61%) contributed the most to the rise in the inflationary pressure, followed by housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuel (3.75%), and clothing and footwear (1.71%). The Food inflation rate rose to 24.82% in May 2023, representing a 0.21% point increase from 24.61% recorded in the previous month and 5.3% points higher than 19.5% recorded in the corresponding period of 2022. On a month-on-month basis, the Food inflation rate in May 2023 was 2.19%, this was 0.06% higher compared to the rate recorded in April 2023 (2.13%).

Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communication, and Strategy, Mr. Dele Alake, who unveiled the administration’s rescue plan for the nation’s agriculture and food programme after a meeting of stakeholders on agriculture and food production value-chain at the State House, Abuja disclosed that measures in the action plan would include an immediate release of fertilisers and grains to farmers and households to mitigate the effects of the fuel subsidy removal.

Placing the Cat Before the Horse

However, analysts said that the government’s plan as laudable and timely as it is, would amount to placing the cat before the horse if certain obstacles to food production are not tackled first before the implementation of the government blueprint is unveiled.

They asserted that nothing tangible can be achieved until the issue of insecurity is addressed. This is because the problem of insurgency has made farming risky in some parts of the country where farmers are wantonly killed and farms and settlements raided from time to time.

For instance, Chairman, Birnin-Gwari Emirate Progressives Union (BEPU), Ishaq Usman Kasai, last year raised the alarm that farmers pay millions of naira before they were allowed to access their farmlands, adding that some of the agreements reached at the negotiations on the side of the farmers include allowing the farmers to access their farmlands without kidnapping or any form of intimidation by the bandits while the bandits should be allowed to be coming to towns and villages where the peace deals were entered for healthcare, buying and selling as well as any other normal businesses.

Analysts said the federal government should have ensured that adequate security is put in place before the declaration of a state of emergency. For instance, in Bornu, Benue Taraba and Plateau with massive produce, farmers have had to be killed, their wives and children raped and their houses destroyed.

The Chief Executive Officer, Oreka Farms Limited, Obafemi Owode Local Council, Ogun State, Bose Ruth Suberu, advised the government to trace the root cause of insecurity and find a lasting solution to the attacks on the hapless farmers.

“It’s only then we can have the solution to food insecurity. If farmers who have abandoned their farms are returning, they need farm inputs to start production, there should also be a security measure in place to make sure they are safe, not just in their farms, but also in their villages/homes.”

Inadequate Storage Facilities

For a nation still experiencing difficulties in transportation and storage, analysts said farmers are running at a loss because of the perishable nature of some of the agricultural products and the rising cost of transportation due to a correspondingly high cost of fuel.

A recent report by SBM Intel, a geopolitical research and strategic communications consulting firm said 47 per cent of farmers in Nigeria have zero access to any kind of storage facilities during harvest. The firm disclosed this in its report titled: ‘Nigerians just want to Eat: Analysis of Farmers and Food Transporters challenges likely to Impede National Food Security.’

The report read: “Agricultural products are easily perishable while production remains seasonal, and demand for farm produce is present throughout the year.

“In our survey, almost half (47%) of the farmers interviewed had no access to any kind of storage facilities. The lack of storage facilities contributes to post-harvest losses which could get as high as 60 percent for tubers, fruits, and vegetables.”

Observers maintained that the cost of transporting farm produce has been a major challenge (due to permits, toll gates, and other associated costs). When the costs of moving farm produce is significantly impacted, it will immediately be passed to the consumers, which will affect the price of food- the government will explore other means of transportation, including rail and water transport, to reduce freight costs and in turn impact the food prices.

 Bad Roads

Another significant appeal farmers are making is for the federal government to collaborate with the state governments to as a matter of urgency act on fixing roads across the country, which according to them have been in a terrible condition for quite a while.

Most of the major of roads in the country are in terrible conditions, thereby making the evacuation of farms produce from the rural areas to the cities difficult.

The farmers who spoke in separate interviews with THISDAY, noted that the bad condition of roads has remained an hindrance to free flow of traffic which makes it extremely difficult to move farm produce from the farms to the city centre as commercial vehicles which they solely rely on are charging excessively.

For instance, one of them, Mr. Semiu Falodun, said: “We are facing a lot of hardship as a result of this bad road. To move our harvested farm produce from the farms has been a major problem for quite sometime now and it is really affecting us as those commercial vehicles owners are not always willing to transport our goods and those who are ready to do the job do charge exorbitant amount and this usually affect the price at which farm produce are being sold at the market.

“Because the road falls within the state’s boundary, we are appealing to both federal and state governments to please as a matter of urgency do something about the repair of the road so that farmers can have easy access to supply their goods to the city centre.”

A woman farmer, Mrs Iyabode Yakubu, stated that if the government is serious about ensuring food security, good access road from farms to the city centre should be on its priority list.

“The campaign about food security is not complete if farmers do not have easy access to their farms as a result of bad roads. So, I want to urge the authority concern to act accordingly on the state of the road we are talking about so that food security can be fully achieved.”

Meanwhile, in a breakdown of the government interventionist programme, Alake said the president approved that all matters about food and water availability and affordability, as essential livelihood items, be included within the purview of the National Security Council.

Speaking the mind of the president, Alake said, “While availability is not a problem, affordability has been a major issue to many Nigerians in all parts of the country. This has led to a significant drop in demand thereby undermining the viability of the entire agriculture and food value chain.

“That all matters pertaining to food and water availability and affordability, as essential livelihood items, be included within the purview of the National Security Council.”

According to him, some of the steps to be taken would include all-year-round farming, the creation of special purpose vehicles, like the commodity board, to liberalise the food production value chain, the immediate activation of land banks across the country, as well as putting an end to the age-long and problematic nomadic animal husbandry, which would be replaced with government-managed ranching. 

Stressing the need for an urgent synergy between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Water Resources to ensure adequate irrigation of farmlands and to guarantee that food is produced all-year round, Alake said that government will immediately release fertilisers and grains to farmers and households to mitigate the effects of the subsidy removal.

In an apparent response to the issue of insurgency, the president’s spokesperson said, “We will engage our security architecture to protect the farms and the farmers so that farmers can return to the farmlands without fear of attacks.

Analysts said the federal government should declare a state of emergency on the insecurity of lives and properties in the country first before doing the same on food insecurity, saying doing otherwise is tantamount to putting the horse before the cat.