The United Nations (UN), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report that Nigeria’s agriculture production is gradually decreasing due to a variety of factors, including a lack of grain production, post-harvest losses, concerns about food safety, and an unimpressive implementation of important policies.
The European Union (EU), FAO, and French Research Centre for Agricultural Development (FRCAD), in collaboration with the government of Nigeria, launched the latest Nigeria Food System Assessment Profile in 2022, which included this as one of its findings, according to the research.
The UN agency stated that by 2050, Nigeria’s population is expected to reach 400 million, but added that the country’s persistently large food deficits remain a major obstacle to the country’s food system.
However, it noted that Nigeria could have the capacity to feed its expanding population for the ensuing decades, adding that this food self-sufficiency could be attained by implementing sustainable and inclusive food systems into the country’s structure, governance, and administration as well as using production technologies.
The recently released Nigeria Food System Assessment Profile, which was conducted in 2022, according to the report emphasizes this.
“Gaps such as low yields, post-harvest losses, food safety concerns, and climate change impacts, coupled with weak implementation of relevant policies and legislation, all combine to stagnate the predominantly rainfed agriculture production,” it said.
In a statement released on Wednesday in Abuja, it stated that the assessment’s goal was to identify the main obstacles and points of entry for comprehending the inefficiencies of sustainable food systems.
It was stated that the assessment report would also make innovative policy and funding recommendations to improve the sustainability and equality of food systems.
Fred Kafeero, the FAO country representative for Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States, noted on the report and outlined four major obstacles preventing the nation from moving toward a desired sustainable food system.
He was quoted as saying, “These include food system vulnerability to internal and external shocks; underdeveloped agrifood value chains; food system vulnerability to climate change and natural resource degradation; poor diet quality and high prevalence of food and nutrition insecurity.
The organization continued by stating that the current food systems were unable to fulfill their obligations to provide wholesome food to everyone and to improve opportunities for livelihood in an environmentally sustainable and environmentally sustainable manner that was environmentally sustainable.
They face difficulties from a variety of factors, including changing diets, technology, urbanization, and climate change.
The dual health risks of unhealthy lifestyles and malnutrition may not exist because there may be enough food to feed everyone. Food systems, however, don’t produce equitable economic returns for all actors because of geographic and economic imbalances.
These imbalances, according to the FAO, were particularly detrimental to small-scale producers and resulted in a never-ending cycle of deprivation and poverty.
To meet Sustainable Development Goals, we must transform the way that we currently produce and consume food. A wide range of Nigerian food system actors was consulted as part of the assessment, which took a comprehensive approach.
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