Insecurity and food inflation

Nigeria seems to be plunging into a new dimension of economic crisis as food inflation reached a new high in the North, hitherto considered the food basket of the country. In the olden days, hunger and starvation occurred mainly as a result of instability which forced people to flee their settlements due to raid by slave merchants or war with neighbouring villages. People caught in fear and hostilities were prone to hunger and starvation due to lack of farming and other economic activities.

The recurrent banditry and kidnappings, have affected communities in the same way as days of old. The unprecedented soaring prices of food items have caused hardship to citizens. Farmers have fled their farms the whole rainy season, sheltering in IDP camps. For many, they do not know how to forge ahead with life in the IDP camps years after the crises in their communities. They are deprived of their means of livelihood by the spate of activities of these cut-throat bandits and kidnappers.

Rural areas are largely the source of food for the cities. So if these places are not secure, there will be a shortage in the food supply chain. This affects the overall food security of the nation. It is therefore imperative for the federal and state economic planning bodies to act fast in order to forestall a disaster in the food industry.

The massive migration of young men to the cities has taken a toll on agricultural activities in the rural areas, leading to abandoned farmlands. Most government programs are mainly centred in cities and bigger towns. This has led to a disparity in the provision of basic amenities between the towns and villages. In fact, most Nigerian villages are without basic amenities. They seldom have any functional government establishment. Ignoring villages without viable government presence is what has backfired today, which is affecting the whole of northern Nigeria.

Small farmers are the backbone of food security. Statistics show that they produce almost 80 per cent of farm produce in the country. This, in effect, has a great adverse effect on food supply when security cannot be assured. If the security of rural farmers is assured and guaranteed, this will in effect lead to the creation of jobs in the country.

Lanre Akinbo

Lagos State.

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