How To Combat The Agelong Food Insecurity In Nigeria

By Temitope Dada

Food insecurity has been described by bodies like the United Nations, as the lack of regular access to enough safe and nutritious food for normal growth and development, which includes an active and healthy life too. This means that when people do not have access to good food at a time necessary, they are said to have food insecurity. Moreover, this can be due to a lack of resources to purchase such food supplies or the unavailability of the right food.

In a country like Nigeria, where there is a great level of food insecurity as a result of the economic crisis and insurgency; most women, men, children, and youths daily go hungry and are extremely poor. A press release by the National Bureau of Statistics shows that 63% of persons in Nigeria (133 million people) are multidimensionally poor. Hence, this has resulted in health cases hinged on malnutrition, stunting, and underweight, all as a result of nutrition deficiencies.

Also, statistics from the World Food Programme have projected that 26.5 million people across the country are projected to face acute hunger in the June-August 2024 season. This signifies necessary measures must be taken to ensure every citizen has access to good food, which is a germane need of every human. What then is the way forward to ensuring the nation produces food and its citizens have access to quality food; people eat their three-square meal, amidst wavering economic challenges and climatic conditions? What is the level of productivity of most farmers and the agricultural sector in the country?

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The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), says Nigeria’s agricultural system is mostly rainfed, showing that is unsustainable and extremely vulnerable to climate change. Thus, the unsustainable farming practices in Nigeria have contributed to the problem of food insecurity. Therefore, sustainable farming practices are a way forward to addressing food insecurity in the nation. This could be delved into to mitigate the looming hunger crisis, which has led to loss of lives, increased crime rate, and social vices.

Sustainable farming refers to a farming process that protects the environment from destruction. It includes environmentally friendly farming practices. An example is the irrigated agriculture. Irrigated agriculture refers to a type of agriculture whereby crops; and plants are artificially watered. This ensures a round-year production and availability of food products. With this system, technological equipment could be used to carry out such watering in large-scale farmlands and plantations instead of waiting for rainy seasons for crop yields.

Likewise, the subsistence form of farming is another way to mitigate this food insecurity. Subsistence farming refers to small-scale farming, that is usually not done for commercial purposes but for personal, family, or communal consumption. Families, groups, and individuals can plant crops and plants for their use and consumption. Plants such as rice, wheat, maize, cotton, sugarcane, and various fruits could be grown this this system of farming. People can practice subsistence farming through improved agricultural innovative methods like indoor vertical farming, and gardening in bags and containers.

Indoor vertical farming can be practiced by growing farm produce, like Tomatoes, peppers, vegetables, indoors, in a regulated and enclosed space. With this technology, crop productivity can be increased in small spaces by using growing shelves that are set vertically. Frequently, the soil is not needed for the shelves but the plants grown with the roots in water and nutrient solutions (hydroponics). For gardening in bags or containers; the containers should be first filled with compost, then loamy soil before the seed is planted. Likewise, small holes should be made in the containers or bags for easy movement of water in the soil and passage of oxygen.

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Also Read: Sustainable Agricultural Practices; Navigating The Future Of Food Production

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