The future of food in Nigeria ­-Ogbeh

It is very important to improve food availability, access, utilization and stability in the Country, bearing in mind that the 38kcal/person/day food energy deficit in the country needs to be reversed. For example, as outlined in the Strategy, the insufficiency of dietary availability of iron from animal sources at 1mgper person per day in Nigeria relative to the 2.9mg globally; and consumption of quality protein at 35g per person per day relative to 68.6g globally are alarming to us.

Most often, available foods are also not affordable to a significant number of the national population while nearly 60% of the income of households is expended on food, and even those in the lowest rung of the social and economic ladder spend more than 75% of their incomes on food.

Inadequate processing and storage facilities are troubling issues too because of their impact on prices and affordability. Prolonged crisis, especially in the northern eastern part, and other parts of the Country that have experienced incessant clashes of herdsmen and farmers, is also an issue of concern. The good news is that this Administration is addressing these issues with a view to effectively, satisfactorily and permanently resolving them.

While time will not permit me to elaborate on all the eight areas of the Food Safety and Nutrition Strategy, a few words on food safety will suffice. All along the food value chains are various hazards arising from indiscriminate use of fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides and veterinary medicines, among others. Poor agricultural practices have accounted for the rising incidents of biological contamination of foods with moulds, viruses, parasites, prions, bacteria, some of which have been associated with producing toxins like cancer aflatoxins. Drying in most places is undertaken on major roads on bare surfaces thus exposing food items to dust, lead from car exhaust and pest contamination, among others.

The food security and overall health of our people are, therefore being compromised, almost daily, hence the unhealthy situation food safety status of the country presently. The consequence is that we are witnessing increased incidents of liver cancer (about 7,761 cases) kidney failures, and other chronic diseases translating into a huge loss to the country, especially with the loss of lives therefrom .

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture cannot deal with all these issues alone because they go beyond its jurisdictional authority. Accordingly, we are working with concerned key stakeholders in all spheres to put in place all necessary measures to ensure that the food we consume nourish our bodies rather than impair our health.

Combating diet related non-communicable diseases, which are also increasing phenomenally in Nigeria is also a topical concern in the food safety and nutrition strategy. They are manifested in cases such as high blood pressure, high fat content in the blood, high blood glucose levels, obesity, diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases. Given that increased access to fruits, vegetables, legumes, and other nutrient-dense foods can help stem the occurrence of these diseases in large numbers, we are focusing attention on producing them in greater numbers in the country.

The emphasis is to ensure improved access and affordability, especially to vulnerable persons and those in the lowest rung of the social ladder in the society.
In view of the critical importance of nutrition to food security, we are committed to entrenching, into the system, an agricultural system that is closely linked with nutrition, hence nutrition-sensitive. To further underscore our commitment to this new paradigm , in my maiden address to Members of the Governing Councils of Federal Universities of Agriculture on 8th August, 2017, I had placed the Universities on notice regarding the importance of nutrition as a new area of study attracting worldwide scientific attention. It is informed by the new reality that ninety percent of human disabilities are reportedly traceable to what we eat or fail to eat.

Hippocrates, way back in 390BC, said ‘let your food be your medicine and let your medicine be your food’. That statement is valid today and we have no choice but to pay attention to this word of wisdom in order to drastically reduce our national health bill, arising from poor nutritional habits and raise the bar of the low life expectancy rate in the country presently.

Indeed, what we grow- the soil, the use of macro and micronutrients; how we harvest, store process, package and cook our meals have all become something worthy of deep academic investigation. This University, and other agriculture universities in the country, must take the lead in research in these areas with a view to coming up with enduring solutions to improve the quality of food we eat in the country and our health status. It is partly because of this that I had advocated that each of the Federal Universities of Agriculture should, as a matter of urgency, have in place a fully established and functional college of nutrition and medical sciences within the shortest possible time, where none currently exists, as part of its process of re-modeling as a centre of excellence.

In the area of livestock development which is integral to improving food access, the breed improvement programme is on-going with heifer and bull multiplication, institution of integrated disease and pest control measures, provision of support for processing of poultry meat and diary, increased livestock production and pasture and fodder development as well as establishment of cattle colonies and promotion of commercial ranching within existing grazing reserves in the country.