Food and agriculture production systems are facing unprecedented challenges from an increasing demand for food for a growing population, rising hunger and malnutrition, adverse climate change effects, over exploitation of natural resources, loss of biodiversity, and food loss and waste. These challenges can undermine the capacity to meet its food needs now and in the future. In other words, fewer people have adequate access to enough nutritious food.
Nigeria faces the double burden of malnutrition, with both under nutrition and obesity recognized as a major health issue for the country. There are also challenges related to post-harvest losses and food safety. Nigerian stakeholders with knowledge on nutrition and healthy diets (e.g. Nigerian universities) have little influence on consumer behavior. Awareness raising on healthy diets is required at the consumer end. At national level, Nigeria faces a food deficit because of the low agricultural productivity and limited processing and storage capacity resulting in high prices for domestically produced food products.
It is a matter of regret however that a country with about 70 percent of her population living in rural areas where farming is the major occupation would have had no course to panic about food crisis or security but the refers is the case. The mono-cultural economy on oil that had blindfolded us in the past is now leading us to a situation of a disaster waiting to happen Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, is naturally endowed with millions of acres of arable land, 38.5 billion of barrels of mineral oil reserves, vast gas reserves, a variety of unexpected minerals, and a wealth of human capital resources by virtue of its estimated population of about 150 million. Our dear nation is more hit by the neglect and abandonment of the agricultural sector. Going down memory lane, when agriculture alone accounted for over 60% of the nation’s income and provided well over 70% job opportunities in the early 70s. Nigeria was making waves in world history for its agricultural feats; the groundnut pyramid in the north, cocoa in the west, palm oil in the east as so on. All these created wealth and made the nation really great but where are the exploit? The grave implication of our unwholesome displacement of agriculture as the hardship prevalent today, poverty, unemployment, starvation.
The Agricultural Promotion Policy identifies food as a human right, compelling the government to protect Nigerians from hunger and malnutrition. Nutrition sensitive agriculture is mentioned as one of the ways to address issues of stunting, wasting and underweight in the country
Implementing Food Security
Food security is the ability to provide enough food to the entire population of a particular state or country at all times. The paper discussed the concept of food security, various ways, policies and strategies to be embarked upon by the government for sustainable agricultural development to ensure adequate food security. The need for agricultural sustainability was examined. It also discussed the socio-economic implication of sustainable agriculture and its challenges. The paper recommends an improved policy execution, monitoring/ evaluation and support to agriculture by the Federal government as the measures for a sustainable agricultural development in Nigeria.
Tracking trends in food security requires two interrelated variables per capital availability of food for direct human consumption and the consumption and the distribution of food supplies within each country Concretely, food security implies that provision of safe, nutritious and quantitatively and qualitatively adequate food, as well as access to it by all people. FAO (1996) gave three dimensions of food
Security to include:
- availability of sufficient quantities of food of appropriate quality, supplied through
domestic production to imports - access by households and individual to appropriate foods for a nutritious diet and optimal
uptake of nourishment, sustaining diet, clean water and adequate sanitation together with
health care.
Sustainable Agricultural Development
Sustainability of agriculture is the maintenance and improvement of agricultural development in order to sustain the livelihood in that nation and their future generation agriculture is one of the socio-economic resources in any nation that is used to preserve life. A sustainable development implies an active role for government in efficient and equitable management of natural and environmental resources, A sustainable agriculture is a sustainable economy.
THE NEED FOR FOOD SECURITY AND SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
A country with abundant food tends to live a happier way of life. Improves the living standard of people, reduces social ills and improves health condition of people especially the children and vulnerable ones in the society. It projects the image of people and community favorable to the international community. It helps to create a conductive atmosphere for a healthy governance. It arrest youth restiveness because a hungry man is an angry man. A sustainable agricultural development gives hope for a better living for the future generation and creates enabling environment for good governance.
It gives room for consumers to make choice of the type of food to consume. Food security reduces spread of diseases and problems in the society and increase cooperation, love and understanding among people. The sustainable agriculture helps to boost the morale of the leaders, creates opportunities for employment and gives room for rural development especially, in the area of social amenities and infrastructural development in agricultural centered environment. It increases a country’s foreign exchange and provides avenue for the supply of raw materials to the local industries. It gives opportunity to countries to increase their production capacity to the goods they have a comparative advantage over other nation. It sustains livelihood of many in any living nation, improves people mental faculty and makes a way for free and fair election in a democratic system.
It makes a nation to be self reliance and depend less on importation of foreign products.
Agricultural sustainability in Nigeria
For one to have and establish an effective sustenance of agricultural economy in the country, there must be an attitudinal change by the government through diversification of the country’s economy to other sectors of economy most especially the agriculture and industries.
Change of government policy from agricultural neglect to agricultural empowerment at all levels and at all times (example) in china, there was agricultural revolution when hunger was too much in china as the result of their over population. This principle of agricultural revolution boosted other sectors of Chinese economy including the science, technology and industries which are fed with output of agriculture.
Formulation of effective and powerful agricultural policies and program.mes that need to be backed up with effective monitoring, supervision and evaluation exercise in order to make it to be fruitful exercise and venture is urgently needed. It was rightly pointed out that before any economic growth occurs there must be a strong policy backing up the programme and project should as well be provided such as silo for the preservation of the surplus agricultural products by every farmer, irrigation techniques should be encouraged by the government to the farmers.
The government should encourage the study of agriculture in the educational curriculum as a compulsory subject to everybody at all levels of study while the provision of insecticides should be made available to the farmers.
Agricultural inputs and credit facilities should always be made available to rural farmers. An improved agricultural facilities such as tractors, harvester and other equipment should always be made available to farmers.
However, Cloud Farm Funds is stepping in the gap to empower farmers with required funds, providing them with the right seeds and breeds of animal and ensuring best agronomy practices.
Within thus, increase food security and also enriching the providers of the funder, our funding partners with good returns on investment.
For more Enquiries on our opened farm investment, visit : https://cloudfarmfunds.com/contact-us
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