Professor Abdulazeez Lawal, a lecturer in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Farm Management at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), has highlighted that the removal of fuel subsidies and the fluctuating exchange rate have created obstacles for many Nigerians in accessing food items.
Lawal made this assertion during his presentation at the 244th UNILORIN Inaugural Lecture, titled ‘Making Ends Meet With Food Security.’ He referred to statistics from the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS), revealing that the consumer price index increased from 22.22 percent to 24.41 percent between April and May 2023.
“Food inflation rate rose from 24.61 percent in April to 24.82 percent in May 2023. On a year-on-year basis, this was 5.33 percent higher than the 19.5 percent recorded in May 2022,” he noted.
Lawal, a faculty member at UNILORIN’s Faculty of Agriculture, pointed out that an estimated 17 million people were at risk of food insecurity in October 2022. He emphasized that without urgent measures to address the ongoing surge in food prices, Nigeria would continue to face acute food insecurity.
The professor proposed that agriculture is a crucial component of the global food system and is highly significant for many countries in terms of employment, nutrition, and rural development. He suggested that agriculture appears to be the primary driver of economic and social development in many countries in the near future.
Lawal noted that smallholder farmers contribute to over 80 percent of global food production. Paradoxically, people in rural areas across all countries are most vulnerable to food insecurity due to limited access to food and financial resources.
With a population of over 200 million people, approximately 80 percent of Nigerians rely on small-scale agriculture for their food needs. Lawal stressed the need to enhance agricultural production and rural livelihood activities to increase food supplies and boost the income of farming households.
He also recommended that governments at all levels improve funding and the effective implementation of food security programs. Lawal called for policy strategies that encourage technology transfer and the adoption of modern farming techniques by smallholder farmers.
Furthermore, he urged the government to prioritize the security of lives and properties through development and peace-building policies in conflict-affected areas.