In a decisive move to combat the looming food crisis in Nigeria, the Federal Government has mandated strict enforcement of laws banning the exportation of grains. This directive aims to bolster food security and ensure the nation’s sustenance amidst escalating concerns over food scarcity.
The urgency of this action is underscored by a distressing projection from the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) alongside its partners, forecasting that an alarming 31.5 million Nigerians across 26 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are poised to face severe food crises or worse from June to August 2024.
At the forefront of implementing this crucial directive is the Nigeria Customs Service, led by Comptroller General Bashir Adeniyi Adewale. In a proactive engagement with grain dealers at the Dawanaw international grains market in Kano State, Adewale elucidated the government’s stance on grain exportation amidst the current food security challenges. The directive from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is clear: enforce the ban on food exports vigorously to safeguard the nation’s food reserves.
The prohibition targets a range of locally produced grains such as rice, beans, sorghum, maize, and millet, including already imported food items. The aim is to curtail the outflow of these essential commodities, focusing on bolstering domestic food availability and stability.
Adewale’s appeal to grain dealers for cooperation highlights a crucial pivot in policy enforcement. Underlying this shift is the acknowledgment that Nigeria’s past food sufficiency allowed for a more lenient approach towards grain exportation. However, the current crisis necessitates a stringent adherence to export prohibitions to ensure national food security.
Supporting this policy shift is the FAO’s Cadre Harmonise report, which paints a grim picture of the current food consumption scenario across several Nigerian states. With 24.7 million individuals already in a state of food crisis, the report emphasizes the dire situation in specific local councils within Adamawa, Borno, Kastina, Yobe, and Zamfara states. These areas are witnessing acute stress in food consumption, exacerbated by factors such as high food prices driven by increased production and transportation costs. The latter has been significantly impacted by the removal of fuel subsidies, resulting in soaring inflation and consumer price index rates affecting both food and essential non-food items.
Kouavou Dominique Koffy, the Country Representative of FAO to the ECOWAS, emphasized the workshop’s objective in Abuja: to dissect food security data meticulously, identify populations and regions at imminent risk of food and nutrition insecurity, and devise preventive measures to curb the emergency or exacerbation of these crises.
This comprehensive approach, from policy enforcement by the Nigeria Customs Service to analytical efforts by international organizations like the FAO, encapsulates a multifaceted strategy to navigate the impending food crisis. The emphasis is on collective resolve and actionable intelligence to mitigate the adverse effects of food scarcity, ensuring that Nigeria can navigate through these challenging times with resilience and foresight. The government’s directive against grain exportation stands as a testament to its commitment to securing the nation’s food supply, marking a critical step towards safeguarding the well-being of millions of Nigerians in the face of a looming food crisis.
Source: The Guardian
