THIS week, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) warned that about 19.4 million Nigerians could face food crisis and nutrition insecurity by August this year. According to the Executive Secretary, ECOWAS Rice Observatory, Dr. Boladale Adebowale, the crisis is being fuelled by the fact that crop production is not meeting population growth, while the country’s agricultural sector is threatened by insecurity, adverse weather conditions and climate change. She also listed other factors, including low mechanization, poor seed quality and varieties, low access to agricultural credit, low agro-processing capacity, low investment in agricultural research, high prevalence of systemic inefficiencies and low productivity. To reverse the trend, she said, the country must implement strategies to ensure that crop production increases by 30 per cent in the next two years.

In March, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) had given the same estimate. In collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and other stakeholders, it analyzed acute food and nutrition insecurity in the Sahel and the West African region, warning that food crisis would affect Nigerians in 21 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). It noted that about 14.4 million people, including 385,000 IDPs in 21 states and the FCT, were already in food crisis in March, and would be till May. This is a terrible situation.

We urge governments at all levels to pay attention to the warnings because if anything, ECOWAS and FAO have robust agricultural programmes and are key players in the food chain. Besides, Nigeria is a signatory to many ECOWAS conventions on agriculture. The bodies have drawn attention to how security crisis affects food production and it is incumbent on the government to address the concerns they have raised in order not to foist a fait accompli on vast populations of Nigerians who are already battling acute hunger. Because insecurity is at the centre of the issue, we urge the government to ensure that all the security agencies give support to farmers with specific reference to agricultural land. The government can address security in different ways and in this case, it is security geared towards food production and preservation.

All too often, farmers have been displaced from their farms by outlaws, including armed herders and other categories of terrorists who have made farming a risky vocation. Many men have been wounded and killed on their farms. Many women have been raped on their farms and returning to those farms has become a serious challenge. The message that the international bodies have been trying to pass across is that without special protection for farmers, Nigerians will experience food crisis at a level previously unimagined, with catastrophic consequences. In this regard, the government should stop the current practice of focusing attention on big farmers. It should protect small-holder farmers to ensure that they can contribute maximally towards averting acute food and nutrition famine. The government should take these recommendations seriously and ensure the setting up of Agricultural Squads across all the security agencies. There is nothing shameful about food security. On the contrary, food crisis/insecurity is not just shameful but dangerous.

At the risk of sounding repetitive, we urge the police to collaborate with local vigilantes and hunters to ensure that farmlands are adequately protected. Agriculture goes beyond farming: it involves poultry and animal husbandry. The strategies rolled out by the government should therefore be holistic and comprehensive. Security is, after all, the raison d’etre of the state.

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