With the appointments of new ministers for the agtic sector, all eyes are on them to revamp the country’s food basket at a time Nigeria is grappling with unprecedented food inflation and other agric challenges. Taiwo Hassan reports

Recently, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released July 2023 headline inflation rate, putting it at 24.08 per cent, from the previous month’s (June) rate of 22.79 per cent. Statistically, the figure represented a new 18-year high. At the same time, food inflation rate increased to 26.98 per cent in July from 25.25 per cent recorded in June.

In comparison to July 2022, the year-on-year food inflation rate was 4.97 percentage points higher. The increase in food prices was attributed to planting season and logistic costs just as impact of fuel subsidy removal took its full course. Sadly, the newly inaugurated Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Abubakar Kyari, is resuming at a time many Nigerians are complaining of hunger or inability to eat three square meals a day.

This is coupled with other multifaceted challenges facing the country’s agriculture architecture. For the key stakeholders in the country’s agric sector, Kyari mount- ing the podium as the new sheriff of the country’s food basket won’t be an easy task as he settles down to work in one of the most challenging sectors in the country.

Skyrocketing food prices

According to the NBS’s report on food inflation, the states where food prices are rising the fastest include, Kogi: 34.53 per cent Lagos: 32.52 per cent, Bayelsa: 31.31 per cent, Kwara: 30.87 per cent, Imo: 30.28 per cent, Ekiti: 30.19 per cent, Ondo: 30.14 per cent, Ogun: 30.12 per cent, Edo: 29.89 per cent, Akwa Ibom: 29.61 per cent, Delta: 28.93 per cent, Abia: 28.77 per cent, Abuja: 28.38 per cent,

Osun: 28.28 per cent, Rivers: 28.23 per cent, Enugu: 28.11 per cent, Cross River: 27.87 per cent, Oyo: 27.84 per cent, Kaduna: 27.73 per cent, Ebonyi: 27.62 per cent, Anambra: 26.48 per cent, Niger: 26.11 per cent, Benue: 25.78 per cent, Bauchi: 25.21 per cent, Gombe: 25.15 per cent, Kano: 24.63 per cent, Katsina: 24.54 per cent, Adamawa: 24.36 per cent, Plateau: 24.27 per cent, Nassarawa: 23.81 per cent, Yobe: 23.31 per cent,

Zamfara: 23.22 per cent, Borno: 23.16 per cent, Taraba: 22.99 per cent, Kebbi: 22.45 per cent, Sokoto: 21.63 per cent, Jigawa: 20.90 per cent. With this, the onus is on Kyari to find a winning formula for the bloated food increments with-a-view to making Nigerians happy and comfortable.

Worsening security challenges

Indeed, one of the challenges in Nigeria’s food security has been insecurity in the country’s agric sector, following the farmers/ herders clashes, which have led to mass killings, kidnappings, banditry and many more.

In facts, the agric sector architecture today has been submerged by insecurity with local farmers abandoning their farms for safety since no presence of security agencies to protect them in their fams from Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen attacks. Additionally, insecurity has impaired food sufficiency with consequences already being seen in skyrocketing food prices and other agricultural challenges.

This has prompted agric stakeholders to be seriously concerned with the worsening security situation in the country. So, the new minister is expected to prioritise the solutions to insecurity around the agric sector as Nigerians are eagerly yearning for a lasting solution to this farmers/herdsmen crisis that has consumed virtually all agric produce meant for feeding the population.

Grains distribution

Following the skyrocketing prices of grains at the international market amidst Russia and Ukraine crisis, the Federal Government recently announced the release of 200,000 metric tonnes (MT) of grains from strategic reserves to households across the 36 states and FCT Abuja to moderate prices of food in the country.

In addition, the government added that it would be providing 225,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser, seedlings and other inputs to farmers who are committed to the country’s food security agenda. Indeed, government’s plan to release grains and fertilisers from the country’s food reserve to cushion the effects of subsidy removal from fuel on Nigerians is a welcome development, even though the pledges only appeared on papers.

However, the bulk of the agric palliatives would be on implementation, especially equitable distribution of the grains and fertilisers nationally. For agric stakeholders, the experiences of the newly inaugurated Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development would be key and apt, and will have to come to the front burners to make sure that it results to rapid food production for the Nigerians.

In the past, fertiliser distribution among farmers was marred by irregularities and corruption at large, especially racketeering and hijacking of the scheme. This is expected to be one of the utmost tests for Kyari while ensuring that no genuine farmer in the state is shortchanged in the process of distribution. Agric stakeholders are calling for intensive and proper monitoring team to be put in place for this exercise that is meant to catalyse the country’s agric sector and food security.

FG’s N50bn agric investments

According to President Tinubu in his speech on palliatives for the agric sector over the fuel subsidy removal, this is administration will invest N50 billion each to cultivate 150,000 hectares of rice and maize in the country and also, N50 billion each will also be earmarked to cultivate 100,000 hectares of wheat and cassava.

Kyari will be tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that the allocated funds set-aside for the land acquisitions to boost agrig is dedicated to the purpose at a period the country’s agric sector is being marred by massive corruption in FMARD from contracts.

This is a laudable project in all ramifications conceived by the President Tinubu-led administration for the growth and development of the country’s agric sector. The only concern among the ag- ric stakeholders is acquiring lands for farming in Nigeria, which comes with lots of challenges.

Invariably, Kyari’s technical expertise will come under close watch to make sure the land acquisition for agric purposes is carried out in a just and equitable ways, not diverting it for other purposes.

GMO crops

Another major issue expected to test the capacity and capability of the minister is the controversial approval of genetically modified organism (GMO) crops in the country without the consideration of Nigerians. Indeed, this has led to some public health experts and agronomists calling on the Federal Government to review procedures for approval of genetically modified (GM) crops in the country as they expressed concerns over the acceptance of several GMOs with questionable risk assessment processes.

There has been controversy around the acceptance of GM crops in Nigeria. Therefore, the position of Kyari as agric minister on this will be very cogent for agric stakeholders who are already divided on this. Specifically, some experts argued that some of the approved GMOs in Nigeria were largely predicated on claims by the applicants, stressing the need to get other opinions about any GM crop before approval.

The development, they added, would help protect the population in a way that consumers would be able to choose what they eat, emphasising that the regulatory framework should be reviewed like that of India, where about four parastatals participated in the approval process. For the GMO, the onus is now on the agric minister to do and take the path that will be of best interest to Nigeria’s agric sector.

The approval process for GMOs in Nigeria was left to the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), without the inputs of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD).

Agric chemicals

Meanwhile, the influx of different chemicals in the country’s agric sector will be one of the key agenda stakeholders will be mounting pressure on Kyari to regulate, because of its unprecedented effects on food intake and cultivation.

Indeed, agric stakeholders believe that Nigeria has become a dumping ground for importation of various agric chemicals without monitoring, supervision, regulations and restrictions as local farmers apply them during planting without considering the health effects on human beings and quantity needed for planting.

Particularly, the minister will have a lot in his hands to change the tide because of powers behind the importation of these chemicals. It would be recalled that Nigeria’s quest to upturn the European Union (EU)’s ban on some selected agro commodities from export is yet to receive the much needed attention.

Anti-open grazing law

Another major concern to food security challenge to the country’s agriculture is the controversial signing of Anti-Open Grazing bill into law by some state governments in the country.

The bill has been generating rancour between the North and the South and this is not helping the country’s agricultural development. States like Lagos, Benue, Rivers, Ondo, Oyo and others have already signed their own bills into law.

Last line

Agric stakeholders are of the opinion that Kyari must hit the ground running amidst many challenges in the country’s agric sector.

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