‘Insecurity, Flood May Cause Severe Food Shortages’
Farmers under the aegis of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) have raised alarm over looming hunger across the country and urged the government to intervene urgently to avert this.
In a statement on Monday, the National President of AFAN, Kabir Ibrahim, said food inflation and severe pressures on Nigeria’s agricultural system, including low mechanisation, difficulty in access to credit, veritable and affordable seed, manageable transportation, insecurity, and flooding were driving hunger.
Ibrahim warned that unless urgent and focused action is taken to address agriculture and agribusiness challenges, Nigeria could face devastating food shortages.
He said, “Various efforts such as the importation of some food items for a given period in defined quantities, support to smallholder farmers or small-scale producers and distribution of palliatives and agricultural inputs are works in progress.
“They should be implemented transparently and dispassionately for them to impact the food system by immediately bringing down prices,” he stated.
The AFAN president called for transparency and efficiency in the distribution of palliatives, importation of essential food items, and support to smallholder farmers, stating that these efforts must be managed effectively to bring immediate relief to Nigerians.
However, he cautioned that the typical seasonal drop in food prices during harvest may not occur in the present year as the flooding in 2024 had devastated many farms.
Ibrahim urged the government to facilitate seamless agribusiness practices through opportunities such as the African Continental Free Trade Area.
“The most probable respite can come by encouraging seamless agribusiness practices through AfCFTA and other available windows,” he remarked.
Ibrahim called for incentives and affordable credit to small and large-scale agribusiness players to ensure they can scale up food production and distribution.
He stressed that temporary measures like palliatives or mass importation were not the solution to Nigeria’s food crisis, but long-term, sustainable agribusiness practices that support smallholder farmers.
Ibrahim said, “The engine room of food production in Nigeria still revolves around the smallholder farmers who should be encouraged to scale by making them get real value for their produce among a myriad of other incentives.”
The AFAN president also called on both leaders and farmers to re-evaluate efforts aimed at achieving food sufficiency, warning that only strategic action can prevent a full-blown hunger crisis.
