During the 244th UNILORIN Inaugural Lecture titled “Making Ends Meet With Food Security,” Professor Abdulazeez Lawal, a lecturer in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Farm Management at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), highlighted the challenging situation many Nigerians face in accessing food items. He attributed this difficulty to the removal of fuel subsidies and the floating of the exchange rate.
Professor Lawal referred to statistics from the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which revealed a concerning increase in the consumer price index, rising from 22.22 percent to 24.41 percent between April and May 2023..
“Food inflation rate rose from 24.61 per cent in April to 24.82 per cent in May 2023. When compared to, on a year-on-year basis, this was 5.33 per cent point higher than 19.5 per cent recorded in May, 2022,” he said.
The scholar, a member of the Faculty of Agriculture at UNILORIN, noted that as of October 2022, an estimated 17 million individuals were in jeopardy of experiencing food insecurity.
He emphasized that unless prompt measures are implemented to curb the persistent escalation of food prices, Nigeria would continue to be counted among nations grappling with severe food insecurity.
Lawal proposed that agriculture, a critical element of the global food system, holds utmost significance as the most vital economic sector with profound socio-economic implications for numerous countries. This pertains to its role in generating employment, promoting nutrition, and fostering rural development.
“In view of this, agriculture appears to be the only realistic driver of economic and social development in many countries in the near future.
“Small holder farmers produce more than 80 per cent of the world food production. Ironically, across all countries, people living in rural areas are most exposed to food insecurity owing to limited access to food and financial resources,” he said.
The expert observed that with a population of more than 200 million people, about 80 percent of Nigerians depend on small-scale agriculture for their food needs.
He advised on the need to improve agricultural production and rural livelihood activities necessary to boost food supplies and increase the income of farming households.
Lawal also advised the government at all tiers to improve funding and effective implementation of food security programmes.
“Government should design policy strategy that would encourage technology transfer as well as ensure the use of modern farming techniques by smallholder farmers,” he said.
The agriculturist also urged the government to ensure security of lives and properties through development and peace building policies in handling issues in conflict affected areas. (NAN)
