Mrs Ndidi Nwuneli, Managing Partner, Sahel Consulting, has called for collective efforts to address food and hunger crisis in Nigeria to drive development and growth.
Nwuneli made the call on Wednesday at a programme with the theme: “The Drivers, Enablers and Obstacles to our Growth”, organised by the Platform Nigeria in Lagos.
She said Nigerians spent 56 per cent of their household income on food while other basic life amenities such as healthcare, shelter, education entertainment and others, were left unattended to.
According to her, many Nigerian families cannot afford to feed which is why there is a high prevalence of malnutrition, under-nutrition, stunting and obesity among the populace.
“The food and hunger crisis in Nigeria is unacceptable because this country is so blessed and endowed.
“We cannot move Nigeria forward unless we address the problem of food and hunger because hunger kills more than AIDs, tuberculosis and malaria combined, ” she said.
Nwuneli identified under investment in agriculture, over dependence on imported foods, irrigation challenges, post-harvest losses and the lack of power for processing produce as some factors responsible for the food and hunger crisis.
She also identified the lack of storage facilities, opaque government policies, limited adoption of innovations and technology to improve agricultural activities, the lack of access roads, climate and insecurity as factors affecting agriculture.
“In Nigeria, we harvest 1.8 tonnes of maize per hectare while China harvests 15 tonnes per hectare.
“In Nigeria, our budgetary allocation to agriculture is just 2.2 per cent while countries like Rwanda and Ethiopia allocate nine per cent and 12 per cent of their budget respectively to agriculture.
“We cannot continue like this. Hunger is man-made and it can be overcome.
” We can reduce household income and expenditure on food from 56 per cent to 30 per cent by ensuring that each Nigerian family starts growing their foods, having home gardens like we have in Spain.
“We need to invest in community gardens to address food and nutrition challenges as well as re-orientate the public on the need to buy made in Nigeria foods, “she said.
Nwuneli also urged the state and federal governments to provide favourable environments for agriculture to thrive by proving friendly policies, research and fund support as well as increased budgetary allocations for agriculture.
She also urged the private sector to invest in the sector as investments in agriculture could guarantee significant revenue for the investor.
“Everybody has a critical role to play in addressing the food and hunger crisis in the country. If countries like Brazil and Ethiopia can do it, Nigeria can.
“All we need is the political commitment and will to do what is required, “Nwuneli said.
In his remarks, Mr Poju Oyemade, the Convener of Platform Nigeria, said the event was aimed at pushing intelligent thoughts and moral principles into the subconscious of Nigerians to drive positive change and growth in the society.
The Platform is a non-profit initiative of Covenant Christian Centre established in 2007 to facilitate growth in the areas of personal capacity and productivity and to foster National Development in Nigeria.
