Food blockade: Neither side is the loser

ONE of the most important elements of economic development, growth rate and life sustenance is agricultural development and food security.The impact of agriculture on economic development is limitless. Generally, agricultural production boosts the economy by providing food and raw material to non-agricultural sectors of the economy.It creates demand for goods produced in non-agricultural sectors, provides investable surplus in the form of savings and taxes to be invested in non-agricultural sector, helps in earning valuable foreign exchange through the export of agricultural products and also provides employment to a vast army of uneducated, backward and unskilled labour.

In addition, improvement in the productivity of cash crops may pave the way for the promotion of exchange economy which may help the growth of non-agricultural sector. It is therefore against the backdrop of the foregoing that the pathway to economic development is achieved through the development of sustainable agricultural policies, the establishment of infrastructures which ensures agricultural development, and, perhaps, most importantly, the provision of security for farmers and agriculturists.

The history of socio-economic development in Nigeria is not complete without reference to the impact of agriculture. Prior to the independence attained in 1960, agriculture served as the lifeblood of Nigeria’s economy. Even in the current post-independence era, agriculture has continually played a significant role in Nigeria’s economic growth. According to economic statistics, agriculture accounted for over 70% of Nigeria’s GDP, making it the largest contributor to Nigeria’s economy around the 1960’s.

At the time, Nigeria’s agricultural earnings were generated through the exportation of commodities which were mainly cash crops like cotton, palm oil, groundnut, rubber, cashew nuts, and cocoa. Nigeria succeeded tremendously in sustaining its economy through agriculture in spite of the low prices at which agricultural products were exchanged.

However, agriculture soon began to lose its grounds as Nigeria’s major source of foreign exchange earnings due to the country’s massive diversion to crude oil. Another major factor which contributed to the massive diversion from agriculture was the incidence of oil boom around the 1970s. Consequently, there was a drastic decline in the percentage contribution of agriculture to Nigeria’s economy.

Low agricultural investment by the government and the governed has greatly impeded the development of agriculture in Nigeria.

Recently, food supply and distribution to the Southern part of Nigeria by the members of the Amalgamated Union of Foodstuff and Cattle Dealers of Nigeria (AUFCDN) became a topical subject of discussion.

Earlier in the year, the leadership of this union reportedly wrote the Federal Government of Nigeria demanding the protection of its members, payment of N475 billion compensation for the lives and properties of members lost during the #EndSARS protest in October last year and the recent Shasa market crisis in Ibadan, Oyo State.

The group also demanded the dismantling of all roadblocks on federal highways, alleging that their members were being harassed and extorted by security operatives.

Following the expiration of seven day ultimatum issued by this group, it commenced a nationwide strike,entailing the closure of all routes between the North and South for vehicles conveying cattle and food items. They created a task force that mounted illegal roadblocks on highways leading to the South to enforce the strike. Not even the prompt warning by the Defence Headquarters that the armed forces would not condone any attempt to disrupt legitimate economic and commercial activities deterred them.

The intention behind the strike action embarked upon by the AUFCDN may seem reasonable.

Across the southern states during the period, the prices of some food items sourced from the North increased by over 100 per cent. This further worsened food inflation in the country, which climbed to 20.57 per cent year-on-year in January 2021, the highest level since July 2008. According to a survey carried out by the Guardian, the non-movement of food items to the South resulted in a surplusage of food items in the North, thereby causing the massive rot of food items, including those already in transit, and thereby forcing potential buyers to look the other way.

The Guardian further observed that in Lagos State, traders in perishable food items at the popular Mile 12 Market on several occasions lamented their losses. During the period when the strike was still ongoing, a basket of tomatoes in the market was sold at a price of N30, 000 while a bag of bell peppers was sold at N20, 000; hot pepper (rodo) was sold at between N19,000 and N25, 000 depending on the size.

In the wake of the food scarcity occasioned by the blockade, many of the stakeholders have called on the state governments to take full advantage of massive fertile land in South West for food production. According to the Southwest Chairman of All Farmers’ Association of Nigeria (AFAN), the stoppage of food supply to the South was a warning of what to expect in the future. He rightly noted that:

“It is a warning sign. The signal therein is telling us that we need to buckle up as far as agricultural production is concerned. They blocked the supply, within two or three days, these products are not in the market. It should not be so. We have the land and other resources enough for us to produce in the Southwest. We need to re-strategize. It is a good development that has taught us to buckle up. In the Southwest, we have the capacity to feed ourselves and export. If you move from Lagos to Ibadan, left and right, what you see are thick forests.We talk much on agriculture. We need to actually walk the talk by focusing more on agriculture because people that can’t feed themselves are slaves. So, much as we have all other resources, there is a need for our government and the private sector to strongly collaborate and see how we can harness the resources surrounding us so that there can be abundant food production in the Southwest. We have the capacity to produce and even export”.

The Amalgamated Union of Foodstuff and Cattle Dealers of Nigeria (AUFCDN) and the South West Chairman of all Farmers’ Association of Nigeria (AFAN) could be right in taking their respective positions. However, a more objective approach for anyone who believes in one Nigeria is to take a more holistic position. The relevant question to ask is: If the strike persists, what would happen to the perishable foodstuffs like tomatoes and pepper if not sold to the waiting consumers in the South? Again, what will be the effect on the owners of the cattle if not sold to the waiting consumers in the South?

During the Second World War, some food items including salt could not be imported to Nigeria. As the war dragged on for years, our parents successfully resorted to natural sweetening herbs which were substituted for salt. I imagined that both the Amalgamated Union of Foodstuff and Cattle Dealers of Nigeria and the South West Farmers Association would be losers for a while. However, time the healer of all diseases would teach both sides what to do to protect their respective interests.

AARE AFE BABALOLA SAN, CON

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