Taming the Two Major Threats to Food Security in Nigeria -By Seun Elere

United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) defines Hunger as an uncomfortable or painful physical sensation caused by insufficient consumption of dietary energy. Hunger becomes chronic when a person does not consume sufficient calories (dietary energy) on a regular basis for active and healthy living. On the other hand, a person is food insecure if s/he lacks regular access to enough safe and nutritious food for normal growth and healthy living and either could be because of lack of food or the money to buy them. FAO also categorizes food insecurity to mild, moderate and severe. When there is uncertainty regarding ability to get food or quality and variety are compromised, there is mild food insecurity. Moderate food insecurity occurs when an individual or a household must reduce the quantity of food they usually consume or skip meals so that what they have sustain them for a longer time. At the extreme is severe food insecurity. This occurs when there is no food at all for an individual or a household such that they have to stay for a day or more without food. When someone is severely food insecure, s/he is out of food and gone a day or more without eating which means that s/he has most likely experienced hunger.

Globally, it is estimated that over 800 million people go to bed hungry regularly. According to Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC) estimated that about 193 million people in 53 countries/territories experienced acute food insecurity at crisis levels or worse in 2021. 70% of these people facing severe hunger level were in only 10 countries (Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Syria, Sudan, South Sudan, Pakistan, and Yemen) according to World Vision International. FAO estimated that of over 700 million undernourished people in the world, over 37% of them live in Africa.

Apart from the fact that Nigeria is listed among the 10 countries facing food insecurity, the Global Hunger Index (GHI) ranked the country 103 out of 122 countries with worsening food insecurity. According to GHI, Nigeria currently has a serious hunger situation. FAO also estimated that by June and August this year (2022), the number of Nigerians facing food crisis would rise to over 19 million across 21 States (including the Federal Capital Territory).

Arguably, the topmost monsters threatening food security in Nigeria are conflicts and food waste. Taming these monsters would not only ensure sustainable food supply and reinforced food system but would also enhance the social-economic development of the country.

Food Security and Conflict
According to an October 2018 report of United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), 6 out of 10 people facing acute food insecurity live in countries or regions where there is conflict. About 60% of hungry people in world live in countries affected by conflict and the report also highlighted that 10 of 13 food crisis globally are driven by conflicts. The crisis in Ukraine and it untold impact on global food supply has further demonstrated the devastating effect of conflict on food security. Of the 21 States (Abia, Adamawa, Benue, Borno, Cross-River, Edo, Enugu, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Lagos, Niger, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, and Zamfara, and the Federal Capital Territory) mentioned in the FAO report earlier referenced, 14 (over 60%) of them are experiencing conflicts.

The insurgency in the northeast, banditry in the northwest and part of northcentral as well as herders/farmers crisis in the northcentral has send the country’s food sufficiency efforts into a great turmoil. These conflicts have greatly reduced access to farmland, the limited areas available for farming are keenly contested and often fueling more conflicts. These conflicts have, over years, affected food distribution across the country as it is now increasingly becoming difficult for farmers and food traders alike to move there produce from the northern part of the country to the south and vise-versa. Interestingly, most of these conflicts are either caused by or fueled by hunger. These conflicts also further plunge the nation deeper in poverty and their impact on the environment further exposes the country into more conflicts in not-too-far future.

Unfortunately, the approach to some of these conflicts have been faulty to say the very least. When conflicts emanate from hunger, bombs and guns would only worsen the situation. The only response or vaccine to hunger is food. With billions of naira expended on military interventions to restore peace in the conflicted areas of Nigeria, there is little or no improvement to show. This, without taking anything away from the sacrifices of our armed forces, should be a signal that perhaps the approach needsl modification. Nations often see investment in conflict prevention as a waste of fund. Many interpret peace restoration to mean suppression of conflicts through military intervention. However, intentional investment in a well implemented social protection interventions is a proven tool of peace. It makes conflict or participation in conflicts unattractive. Giving people what to live for discourages them from participation in conflict.

In the word of Dwight D. Eisenhower:
“In vast stretches of the earth, men awoke today in hunger. They will spend the day in unceasing toil. And as the sun goes down they will still know hunger. They will see suffering in the eyes of their children. Many despair that their labor will ever decently shelter their families or protect them against disease. So long as this is so, peace and freedom will be in danger throughout our world. For wherever free men lose hope of progress, liberty will be weakened and the seeds of conflict will be sown.”

Until Nigeria invests more in conflict prevention, food security would continue to be threatened by conflict and the preventable loss of lives, environmental and economic degradation that ensue.

Food waste and food security
According to World Bank, 40% of total food produced in Nigeria are wasted. Nigeria wastes more food than any other African country. According to a United Nations report, a Nigeria wastes over 189kg of food every year, that is, equivalent of about four 50kg bags of rice. This results in about 38million tonnes of yearly food waste by the country. These are not far-fetched, a walk to a venue of an Owambe or a visit to a market dumpsite would easily proof this. Food waste is said to cost Nigeria over 9% of its GDP annually. Food waste alone accounts for 5% of the Nigeria’s GHG emissions.

According to Action Against Hunger, there is more than enough food produced in the world to feed everyone on the planet, yet over 800 million still go to bed hungry. Nigeria’s case is not different, even with the security challenges bedeviling the many agrarian States in the country, the quantity of food produce by the country should be more than enough to feed all its populace with a lot to spare for export but challenges posed by food waste, occasioned by poor food handling, poor packaging and lack of storage for farm produce, is fast turning this blessing to a curse.

It sounds like a cliché, but the widespread poverty in Nigeria which is driving hunger and conflict is unexplainable considering the food production potential of the country. With effective food waste prevention strategies, agriculture, as a major employer of labour in the country, has the potential of lifting over 70% of our population (especially, those in the rural area) above poverty line. However, the current state is that we waste most of what we produce before they even get to the market, another rounds of waste also takes place in the market and household (consumer) level.

Nigeria, with a booming population, needs to take action now to mitigate food waste and ensure a more food secure populace in order to prevent the monumental lost to economic growth and development as a result of undernutrition, conflicts and deaths. The country needs to invest more in cold chain technological development and carry out a lot of training and sensitization on low hanging food handling/preservation tricks for farmers, food traders and even consumers.

Conclusion
Food is basic to life and anything that threatens this threatens our survival and should be dealt with frontally. Our bombs and guns approach are only worsening our already serious hunger crisis. Until we make intentional or upscale our investment in social protection programmes targeted at the most vulnerable, conflict will continue to thrive. We must devise means of empowering all Nigerians, most especially those in the rural areas thereby making participation in conflict unattractive. There should also be a more sincere and clear commitments to cold chain technology development in-country. We must also do more in terms of orientation or re-orientation targeted at curtailing household food waste.