Food security: Lagos grants N8m to four farmers’ cooperatives.

The Lagos State Government says it has assisted four farmers’ cooperative societies in the state with N8 million to enable them to contribute meaningfully to the national food security.

Sanni Okanlawon, the Special Adviser to Governor Akinwumi Ambode on Food Security, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Tuesday in Lagos.

Okanlawon said that the money was meant for the acquisition of modern tools that would aid commercialisation of agriculture in the state.

According to him, the societies are Ayobo-Ipaja Farmers Forum, which got N2.5 million, United Farmers Forum (N2.5 million), Ifesowopa Farmers Cooperative Society (N1.5 million) and Amuwo Odofin Cooperative Society (N1.5 million).

He said the money was given under the National Food Security Programme in collaboration with the Federal Government.

Okanlawon told NAN that the beneficiaries had contributed to the agricultural sector in the state, were rewarded during the 2016 World Food Day.

Okanlawon said: “The amount given to the groups depend on the size of the cooperative.

“The grant is such that the Federal Government gives half of the money, while the state government provides the other part.

“When the money is given, part of it is released to the groups while the ministry takes the other part to purchase other farm equipment needed by the groups to increase production.

“This is another way of empowering farmers towards improving food security.

“The beneficiaries are closely monitored by the Agriculture Development Authority to guard against diversion of the funds.”

According to Okanlawon, ADA monitors the flow of the monies through a confirmatory note sent to the ministry by the group before withdrawal.

Kunle Gbadamosi, a member of the Ayobo-Ipaja Cooperative Forum, which got N2.5 million, lauded the government for the gesture.

Gbadamosi restated that the money was to further drive commercialisation of farming activities in the state.

He said that the gesture had further assured farmers of the present administration’s drive to ensure food production and security.

Food Security: No One Eats Oil Or Gas- Adesina

The president of African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has emphasised the importance of agriculture and food security to the growth and development of Africa.

Speaking at a high level conference on agricultural transformation themed ‘Feeding Africa,’ Adesina said nothing is more important than food, noting that while Africa had risen on the back of new discoveries of oil and gas fields, in reality, no one eats oil or gas.

He stated, “People eat food. Access to food in quantity and quality is a fundamental human right. Just few weeks ago at the United Nations General Assembly, the world took a bold decision to approve the Sustainable Development Goals. In my meeting with the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, he told me: ‘The SDGs must succeed in Africa. If they do not succeed there, they cannot be said to have succeeded’.

“Africa is clearly the continent on the rise. Six of the 10 fastest-growing economies in the world are in Africa. Real income has risen by 30 per cent in the last 10 years. Foreign Direct Investment has risen to $64 billion, while remittances have reached $56 billion, exceeding total official development assistance.”

Credit: Leadership

Food Security & Poverty Eradication in Africa: Interplay By Olawale Rotimi

A hungry nation is an angry nation; the issue of food security has been a major challenge in Africa; a policy brief by Jason Bremner reveals that “nearly 240 million people in sub-Saharan Africa, or one person in every four, lack adequate food for a healthy and active life, and record food prices and drought are pushing more people into poverty and hunger. At the same time, the world’s population has now surpassed 7 billion, in this case Africa’s population has risen, 50 million will be added to sub-Saharan Africa population in the next 17 years, and by 2050, projection shows that Africa’s population double i.e. 2billion. The question that comes with this projection is, how does Africa plan to feed its escalating population?

Food insecurity is not alien to Africa, over the decades, millions of African children and women have died of hunger, the struggle to feed has given birth to increasing number of domestic robbery, reduction in economic productivity among others. A well fed nation is a healthy nation, and a healthy nation is a wealthy nation. The issue of food security cannot be disconnected from economic backgrounds, in agreement with Jason’s report, food security exists when all people at all times have both physical and economic access to sufficient food to meet their dietary needs for a productive and healthy life. Thus, achieving food security implies that sufficient quantities of appropriate foods are consistently available, individuals have adequate incomes or other resources to purchase or barter for food, food is properly processed and stored, individuals have sound knowledge of nutrition and child care that they put to good use, and have access to adequate health and sanitation services.

Assessing the above mentioned yardsticks that determine food security, statistics justify that Africa is lagging behind. First, economic access to nutritious food in Africa remains a goal yet to be attained. In spite of the fact that Africa is a farming continent, the prices of food items do not mirror the agricultural strength of the continent. The fact that Africa is an agrarian continent is enough reason to make enough food available for the populace, but interestingly Africa still imports some crops it produces because its production does not meet the demand of its people. Furthermore, nutritional knowledge is low in Africa, particularly in rural areas. Food security is at the top of the list of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) with the goal of eradicating poverty and hunger, even though efforts are been made to attain food security in the continent, achieving food security remains a herculean task in the continent.

Drought and other extreme weather events, pests, livestock diseases and other agricultural problems, climate change, military conflicts, lack of emergency plans, corruption and political instability, cash crops dependence, and rapid population growth have been highlighted as causes of food insecurity. In the case of Africa, corruption and political instability, cash crop dependence and rapid population growth are more prevalent factors aiding food insecurity in Africa. Agriculture is the only wealth a nation/continent can call its own. Africa needs to address the issues of corruption and instability in agricultural loans for small and large scale farming in order to cater for its growing population. Food security cannot be disconnected from poverty eradication, if Africa is unable to attain the former, the latter will equally remain unattainable. More investments have to be made in the agricultural sector to increase production and make food items more available to the populace. A hungry continent is an angry continent, food security will not only eradicate poverty but will reduce crime, reduce mortality rate and increase economic productivity.

VIEWS EXPRESSED ARE SOLELY AUTHOR’S…