Celebrating 2016 World Food Day

WORLD FOOD DAY: RESUSCITATING NIGERIA’S AGRIC SECTOR

       On Sunday, 16^th October, the world over is celebrating the 2016 edition of World Food Day. Due to the inevitable impact of food on mankind, the World Food Day (WFD) was established during the 20^th General Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) in November 1945. During the conference, all the Member States of FAO resolved that October 16 each year should be commemorated as World Food Day; the day was meant to coincide with the anniversary of the founding date of the organization - FAO.

        In the history of mankind, no one has ever boasted of living a healthy life without an adequate food on his/her table. This implies that a healthy living is not unconnected with consumption of required dietary. Food, which remains one of the three basic needs of man on earth, can only be acquired or guaranteed via thorough participation in agricultural practices. No doubt, agriculture is an integral part of human existence considering that it is the only means that can guarantee the three paramount needs of man, which are: food, clothing and shelter.

        Obviously, several countries in the world depend solely on agriculture as regards Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), and creation of employment opportunities. Such countries jealously safeguard it because they acknowledge that it is the most affordable and assessable source of revenue within the reach of man. This is a clear indication that agriculture can function as a revenue source as well as means of survival. Suffice it to say; sustenance of agriculture remains one of the prime desires of any rational and vision-oriented country in existence.

        Owing to its challenges, including lack of access to mechanize farming, undesirable topography, poor climatic condition, unavailability of land, poor soil texture, insufficient funds, et cetera, many prospective farmers in most developing nations, like Nigeria, have over the years lost interest in agriculture, thereby endangering the socio-economic status of the affected nations. It’s not anymore news that lack of participation in either subsistence or commercial farming among the populace of a certain country invariably leads to malnutrition and tremendous decline in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country.

       The most devastating aspect of apathy in agriculture is the one observed amongst the youth as a result of their eager and unending quest for white-collar jobs. To say the least, the ongoing lack of enthusiasm among the young ones, in the area of farming, contributed immensely to the current scarcity of food on the African continent. History indicates that between 2011 and 2013, a total of eight hundred and forty-two (842) million individuals, or about one in every eight persons in the world, were estimated to be suffering from chronic hunger. This signifies that the said set of people was not regularly getting enough food for themselves to carry out their active life activities.

        The theme of this year’s World Food Day is “Climate is changing. Food and agriculture must too.” One of the biggest issues related to climate change is food security. The world’s poorest – many of whom are farmers, fishers, and hunters – are being hit hardest by higher temperatures and an increasing frequency in weather-related disasters. At the same time, the global population is skyrocketing and is expected to reach 9.6 billion by 2050. To meet such a heavy demand, agriculture and food systems will need to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change and become more resilient, productive, and sustainable. This is the only way we can ensure the general well-being of ecosystems and rural settlements, as well as reduce emissions.

        Growing food in a sustainable way means adopting practices that produce more with less input, in the same area of land, and use natural resources wisely. It also means reducing food losses before the final product or retail stage through a number of initiatives, including better harvesting, storage, packaging, transport, infrastructure, market mechanisms, coupled with institutional and legal frameworks. FAO is using this period to call on countries to address food and agriculture in their climate action plans and invest meaningfully in rural development.    

        As the world over celebrates the 2016 annual World Food Day, I urge governments at all levels to wake up from slumber with the view to ensuring that the bane of the Nigeria’s agricultural institution is thoroughly addressed. This can be made possible by providing the needed support for any genuine prospective farmer, such as soft loan with zero interest rates, arable land, enabling environment, or what have you, as the case may be. Similarly, the various commercial banks ought to be conscientized not to hesitate in granting loans to any intending indigenous farmer.  

        Governments should equally subsidize the prices of farming machinery/equipment to enable every commercial farmer purchase them without much ado. In the same vein, the ongoing restriction of importation of goods and services into the country must be duly strengthened and intensified by the apt authorities to include the Customs Service, among others, toward increasing the level of demand on locally-made commodities.

        On their part, the farmers ought to, from time to time, validate the membership of all their members, and also encourage the upcoming ones to register, to enable the government or any concerned corporate body to easily assess them as well as ascertain the genuineness of anyone who claims to be a practising farmer. They should also sensitize their members on the need for specialization towards boosting production; farmers need to concentrate on a particular crop/livestock farming to enable them obtain a desirable outcome. After creating a sound foundation, any farmer can in the future consider practising mixed farming.

        The various governments should as well endeavour to own and manage various mechanized farms at their respective jurisdictions with a view to supplementing the privately owned ones. They mustn’t leave everything for the private sector, in order to ensure adequate price regulation on the goods and services. Such measure would also intensify the anticipated diversification and massive employment opportunities for the youth. In view of this, every agriculture ministry is expected to boast of staff that are qualified in various agricultural disciplines, rather than professionals from other areas. And, every staff must be prepared to go to the field.

        Above all, there’s a compelling need for Agricultural Science to be studied by every high school student as a core subject, and equally sit for it during their School Certificate Examinations. There’s also need for all the tertiary institutions in Nigeria to introduce Agric Science in their schools as a general course for every first year student; there would be need for a formidable legal backing towards ensuring the effectiveness of this measure.

        Additionally, governments, non-governmental organizations, among other stakeholders, should endeavour to continually grant bursary to the undergraduates studying Agric Science or any agric-related discipline towards encouraging prospective ones. The various civil society groups are required to solicit for this on behalf of the students. Let’s sacrifice now and enjoy forever. Think about it!

Comrade Fred Nwaozor

(TheMediaAmbassador)

-Researcher, Blogger, Public Affairs analyst & Civil Rights activist-

Chief Executive Director, Centre for Counselling, Research

& Career Development - Owerri

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frednwaozor@gmail.com

Twitter: @mediambassador