BY BIDEMI NELSON
The high levels of insecurity of farm lands, especially in rural areas have threatened the lives of farmers, their crops and their livestock, significantly. This too can no longer be ignored as it is a cause of problems related to food unsustainability. It is equally important for farmers to be more strategic in security matters relating to their farm activities. Encouraging the productive use of small land spaces for gardening, orchard farming and small-scale livestock farming can also help bridge food shortages from time to time for many families. This is very important as food sustainability remains uncertain in the face of increased demands.
Food poverty has been an age-long problem and consequently the cause of malnutrition, high morbidity and mortality rates in children.
Sadly, the Covid-19 pandemic has further exacerbated this situation by reducing food production and also negatively impacting revenue generation leading to the erosion of purchasing power and insufficient incentives for farmers.
Beyond that, Covid-19 has caused an increased malfunctioning of food supply chains and even heightened insecurity problems. Alarmingly, children tend to feel the aftermath of food poverty more severely and most crimes against children are more often than not, perpetrated due to food poverty.
Food poverty is the absence of food in sufficient quantities and nutritional quality. Research has shown that the case of food poverty is established under four circumstances: when food is insufficient (food is not produced in adequate amounts for consumption and storage); when food is inaccessible (food is produced in adequate amounts on farms but cannot make it to relevant purchase points such as markets due to supply chain problems); when food is expensive (food is available in adequate amounts and is also available at purchase points but the money to buy the food is not available or sufficient) and when food cannot be sustainably produced (when food cannot consistently be present at markets leading to fluctuations in food availability and pricing).
While each individual factor constitutes scenarios of food poverty, a combination of these factors constitutes more severe cases of food poverty. For instance, where food is not sustainably produced due to pandemics or herdsmen attack on farmers and income for food purchase is simultaneously being eroded due to job losses. Evidently, food poverty worsens when the factors causing it, combine.
Addressing food poverty requires a lot of collaboration in getting food produced in requisite quality and quantities. First, farming as a profession must be critically examined.
Farmers need all the help they can get and it starts with knowledge acquisition. Farmers must know where to access resources (land, seeds, livestock, fertilizers, farming equipment, farming societies, farmers’ workshops, farm financing, insurance, security and a host of other resources needed to start farming).
This knowledge will discourage subsistence farming impulses and encourage mechanized farming. The knowledge of resource management is also vital for farmers.
Information on when planting should start, when pesticides should be used, in what quantities should they be used, when should harvesting start, when marketing contacts be made and when storage facilities should be acquired are very important for farmers to manage their resources.
The same applies to livestock farmers as they should know when to get their animals vaccinated, how to stop disease outbreak on the farm and when to call the vet.
Financial literacy and skills are also vital for farmers as they should be able to identify cost-effective farm methodologies (for instance, should farm machines be jointly purchased or leased and for how long, considering depreciation), how well can they negotiate bank loans and insurance policies, and would farmers want to play an active role in the supply chain activities, considering the strengths they possess to meet supply chain deficits?
All of these ensure that food is produced in large quantities ready for immediate consumption, marketing and storage. One other factor aggravating food poverty globally is the problem of getting foods from farms to the final consumers in the most minimal time and in the highest quality possible.
Infrastructure such as good roads is critical in ensuring that foods leave farms and get to the market quickly. The food transportation industry unfortunately, is in dire need of intervention as other means of transportation are used negligibly.
Air transportation, for instance is a better option for vegetables and other perishable items. However, this is almost wishful thinking if subsidization policies do not come into play in this regard.
In addition, issues pertaining to the availability of markets must also be addressed. Food markets are available when there are many buyers with ample purchasing power, patronizing the markets.
Factors like inflation cannot continually be ignored. Job losses must be looked into. There must be more sensitization on the soft loans available for entrepreneurs. However, beyond this is the issue of food sustainability.
The high levels of insecurity of farm lands, especially in rural areas have threatened the lives of farmers, their crops and their livestock, significantly. This too can no longer be ignored as it is a cause of problems related to food unsustainability.
It is equally important for farmers to be more strategic in security matters relating to their farm activities. Encouraging the productive use of small land spaces for gardening, orchard farming and small-scale livestock farming can also help bridge food shortages from time to time for many families. This is very important as food sustainability remains uncertain in the face of increased demands.
Bidemi Nelson is a public affairs commentator and the Chief Executive Officer of Shield of Innocence Initiative, based in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. She can be reached at Phone Number: +2348033656954, www.facebook.com/shieldoi, www.instagram.com/shieldoi and www.twitter.com/shieldoi1.
