STRATEGY FOR ENSURING FOOD SECURITY IN TARABA STATE, NIGERIA

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Background of the Study

Nigeria has suffered from food insecurity and poverty as indicated in a recent estimate that put the number of hungry people in Nigeria at over 53 million, which is about 30 percent of the country’s total population of roughly 150 million; and 52 percent live under the poverty line (Ajayeoba, 2010). These are matters of serious concern largely because Nigeria was self sufficient in food production and was indeed a net exporter of food to other regions of the continent in the 1950s and 1960s (Ajayeoba, 2010).

He stated that things changed dramatically for the worse following the global economic crisis that hit developing countries beginning from the late 1970’s onward. The discovery of crude oil and rising revenue from the country’s petroleum sector encouraged official neglect of the agricultural sector and turned Nigeria into a net importer of food. By 2009 for example the Federal Ministry of Agriculture estimated that Nigeria was spending over $3billion annually on food imports.

Although agriculture contributes 42 percent of the GDP, provides employment and a means of livelihood for more than 60 percent of the productively engaged population, it receives less than 10 percent of the annual budgetary allocations. Underfunding in this regard is central to the crisis of food production, and food security in Nigeria (Ajayeoba, 2010). This explains the persistence of poverty. According to the author, the loss of food sovereignty and the dependence on food importation is also making the country quite susceptible to fluctuations in global food crisis. This is why Nigeria was also strongly affected by the global food crisis in 2007/2008 leading to food insecurity, thus a need for food security.

Food security happens when all people at all times have access to enough food that is affordable, safe and healthy and is culturally acceptable, meets specific dietary needs, obtained in a dignified manner and produced in ways that are environmentally sound and socially just. Food security is not just a poverty issue, it is a much larger issue that involves the whole food system and affects everyone in some way (FAO, 2001).

According to the World Bank (2007), the global food security crisis endangers the lives of millions of people, particularly the World’s poorest who live in countries already suffering from acute and chronic malnutrition. They further lamented that fundamental considerations are to underscore the human dimension of the crisis, monitor its impact on nutrition, health and poverty, plus its effect on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) including providing sound information and analysis to target the most vulnerable groups.

A nation is food secured when food is available and accessible in sufficient quantity and quality for a productive livelihood for every individual. The increasing issue of food insecurity, particularly in Africa has been greatly attributed to wars, conflicts, natural disasters and bad governance.

Globally, there is enough food for all, but more than 780 million people are chronically undernourished (FAO, 2001). Millions of people in developing world simply cannot obtain the food they need for a healthy and productive life. Much of the scholarly debate on agricultural growth and poverty in Nigeria have followed the general trend of regressing measures of poverty against agricultural output per head and a time trend (World Bank, 2009). This is based on the knowledge of agricultural production landscape in Nigeria. These resource poor farmers are also characterized by a strong dependence on agricultural labour market, little or no forms of savings or storage facilities and cultural practices adopted are highly labour intensive (Okuneye, 2002).

The socio-economic and production characteristics of the farmers, inconsistent and unfocussed government policies, the poor infrastructural base, all interact in a synergism to asphyxiate the sector, resulting in low production, high prices of food items, inflation, underdevelopment and concomitant poverty. The place of agriculture in an agrarian society cannot be overemphasized given its importance in the life of human beings.

Agriculture is expected to ensure adequate supply of food to the people. Millions of people in developing world simply cannot obtain the food they need for a healthy and productive life. Similarly, agriculture is expected to produce a high level of agricultural raw materials for the industries, save the industry and the nation from high costs of importation, produce excess for the local demand ( for food and raw materials) for export. Agriculture should continually generate employment for the people as well as a high level of returns for the farmers.

The Global Hunger Index, published by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) 2004, ranks developing countries according to their performance on three indicators: proportion of undernourished as a percentage of the population, prevalence of underweight children under five and child mortality . On a scale of 0-100, with 0 indicating the absence of hunger in a given country, Nigeria’s 2008 ranking was in the 10-19 range, labelled “serious” The population segments with the highest vulnerability to food insecurity include poor farming households in the Sudan- Sahelian zone of Northern Nigeria and the humid forest zones of Southern Nigeria, and pastoralists scattered over Northern Nigeria. The Sudan-Sahelian zone is particularly drought-prone, the humid forest zones are particularly flood-prone, and pastoralists commonly face fodder and water deficits due to low rainfall situations in the North (World Food Prize, 2010).

In 2008, Nigeria introduced its National Program for Food Security (NPFS), laying out dozens of constraints to food security in Nigeria and adopting a “value chain approach” to address these constraints. The vision of the NPFS is “to ensure sustainable access, availability, and affordability of quality food to all Nigerians and to be a significant net provider of food to the global community.” Considering Nigeria’s current position as a net importer of food products, this vision will take time to be realized. The short-term objectives of the NPFS are doubling the domestic production of cassava, rice, tomato, sugar and cotton, and increasing the production of millet, wheat and poultry by 50 percent. The medium-term objectives include increased processing and storage capacity as well as development of the market and physical infrastructure required to achieve food security (World Food Prize, 2010).

1.2 Statement of Problems

Investigation revealed that food insecurity has been described as a condition in which people lack basic food intake to provide them with the energy and nutrients for fully productive lives. It may also result in severe social, psychological and behavioural consequences. Food insecure individual may manifest feelings of alienation, powerlessness, stress and anxiety, and they may experience reduced productivity, reduced work and school performance, and reduced income earning. Household dynamics may become disrupted because of a preoccupation with obtaining food, which may lead to anger, pessimism, and irritability.

Adverse consequences for children include higher levels of aggressive or destructive behaviour, hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty with social interactions (e.g more withdrawn or socially disruptive). Others include; increased passivity, poorer overall school performance, increased school absences, and a greater need for mental health care services.

The government of Nigeria and the UNICEF in 2004 carried out a nutrition survey in Kano State captioned ‘Household food security and nutrition: Nigeria’. The findings revealed that the northern savannah zone of the country was facing worsening food insecurity. It had the highest prevalence in the country of stunting or chronic under-nutrition among children under the age of five and an alarming statistics for micronutrient deficiencies of iron, vitamin A and iodine in adults and children. This has led to a high incidence of malnutrition-related diseases, including marasmus, kwashiorkor and goitre, which were not only undermining health but hindering agricultural production in a region traditionally considered the bread basket of Nigeria.

Even though Taraba State as one of the northern states of the country is richly endowed with potentials for the development of agriculture to ensure safe, adequate and quality food production for the State, the State is still characterized with a large number of people who are food insecure and therefore vulnerable. These vulnerable groups include: victims of conflict (e.g refugees and internally displaced people); migrant workers; marginal populations (e.g school dropouts, unemployed people, homeless people and orphans); dependent populations (e.g elderly people, children under five, and disabled and ill people); women of reproductive age; ethnic minorities; and low literacy households.

The natural endowment of Taraba State and most part of the country on the contrary should not have allowed for these importation trends. The State has all it takes by natural potential to produce food that will enable her attain sufficient food supply. This is not yet a reality due to some problems, one of which is the poor strategies employed in the attainment of food security.

1.3 Aim and Objectives of Study

The aim of the study is to identify the strategies for ensuring food security in Taraba State. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:

1. To examine the determinants of food security in the State;
2. To identify the factors responsible for food insecurity in the State;
3. To examine the food production patterns in the State; and
4. To determine the strategies for ensuring food security in Taraba State.

1.4 Research Questions

The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:

• What are the major determinants of food security in Taraba State?
• What are the food production systems in the study area?
• What are the factors responsible for food insecurity in Taraba State?
• What then are the strategies that can be used to ensure food security in Taraba State?

1.5 Significance of the Study

The findings of this study will be useful to the ministries of agriculture, policy makers, agricultural intervention programme planners, funding agencies, farmers, researchers in agriculture and food security, academics among others.

In addition, the findings of this study will enhance a progressive development of policies in the State on food security as well as for appropriate intervention programmes to be introduced to the State. Researchers will find the results of this study as a basis for further studies and addition to knowledge.

The findings will be made available as published papers in both local and international journals, as well as being presented as seminar papers at conferences for use by various stakeholders. It will also serve as reference material for future researchers.