Aminat Gusanu
The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi has blamed the food crisis in Nigeria on a lack of adequate investment in the agricultural sector.
Obi emphasized the need for the government to prioritize agricultural investment to ensure adequate food production, not only for Nigeria but also for the global community.
He disclosed this via his verified X handle (formerly Twitter) on the occasion of World Food Day on Monday.
He cited another obstacle to food security including insecurity in parts of the country, calling for urgent steps to salvage over 90 million Nigerians from further hunger and starvation.
He maintained that the vast fertile lands in the North, if put into productive agricultural use, will produce enough food for domestic consumption and exports, which can give us more revenue than from crude oil.
Obi wrote: “As the global community marks World Food Day today, we must remind ourselves of the present food crisis in the nation, and seek urgent steps to salvage the people from further hunger and starvation.
“Food crisis has remained a serious challenge facing many households in Nigeria,as the country is reported, by the Global Hunger Index, to be facing a serious hunger level.
“With more than half of the population living in poverty, a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has shown that over 90 million Nigerians face food
insecurity, thus posing obstacles to a healthy population and human development.
“In the 2023 Global Hunger Index, Nigeria ranked 109th out of the 125 countries measured, showing that we currently battle high level of hunger.
Reports have it that Nigeria’s food inflation rate in August 2023 was about 30 per cent on a year-on-year basis.
“Consequently, a vast majority of Nigerians spend the entirety of their disposable income on food, which is often hardly enough.
The horrible spate of attacks on farmers in Nigeria by armed and terror groups has continued to hinder food production, and food supplies and therefore, threatening to push the country deeper into a devastating hunger crisis.
Lack of adequate investment in agriculture also contributes greatly to the food crisis in Nigeria.
“I have maintained that the vast fertile lands in the North if put into productive agricultural use, will produce enough food for domestic consumption and for exports, which can give us more revenue than we generate from oil.
Government, therefore, must invest heavily in agriculture, to ensure sufficient food production for Nigeria and the global world. Happy World Food Day. – PO.”
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