Food security: Interventions should target real farmers – Stakeholders

Some stakeholders in agriculture have called for effective implementation of the policy plan on achieving food security.

The stakeholders, who praised declaration of a state of emergency on food security by the Federal Government, said the right people must drive the policy while interventions should target real farmers.

They made the call in interviews on Wednesday in Lagos.

The Co-founder of Corporate Farmers International, Mr Akin Alabi, said that it was pertinent that the right people should drive the policy for the attainment of food security.

“The state of emergency on food security by the government is a good one, but again, it is good that the presidency appoints an adviser to drive the process.

“A good adviser is needed to drive the implementation and proper execution of the 12-item plan for the state of emergency on food security.

“Over the years, different governments have rolled out policy plans on ensuring food security but they often failed.

“This is because there has not been a proper execution or implementation process in driving these policies,” Alabi said.

He said that manpower to run the policy should have been announced to facilitate achievement of food security.

“What we expect is that an adviser to the president on food security should have been named.

“We cannot just roll out a paper plan; we need someone to be responsible for them. If this is not done, it may result in failure that happened to similar programmes in the past.

“The presidency must announce which office or ministry is going to drive the food security policy.

“If this is done, it will help private investors, who will love to promote food security in the country,’’ he told NAN.

Alabi added that the food security policy plan should affect smallholder farmers.

“If smallholder farmers are not affected by the policy plan, achieving food security may be a myth.

“If the provisions of the policies of the state of emergency on food security are well implemented, it is going to ease issues of food insecurity in the country,” he said.

A greenhouse farmer and agriculture consultant, Mr Chuba Chukwuka, also said that effective implementation of the policy was vital.

“In the implementation of the state of emergency on agriculture, the government must ensure that the interventions get to the real farmers and not political farmers.

“There have been policies like this before, they came to take our data and promised to get back to us but, at the end, we still bought the interventions from the market.

“The issue is: How will the government make the interventions get to the farmers to make the state of emergency effective?

“We must teach farmers how to preserve their produce and how to access funds to run their farms,” Chukwuka said.