Food
security is at the heart of a nation’s development agenda. This comes with a
clear commitment to end hunger, achieve food stability and eradicate
malnutrition in all its forms, especially protein deficiency.
This
was the core of the submissions contained in the Protein Challenge webinar with
the theme “The Nigerian Protein Deficiency
Awareness Report 2020: Unpacking the Numbers, Exploring the Issues”. The
Nigerian Protein Deficiency Report 2020 was unveiled at the virtual
session.
Professor
Adetunji Kehinde, an agricultural expert and key panelist on the session noted
that “Nigeria is not food secure. Food security is an essential ingredient in
the quest to curb incidence of protein deficiency across Nigeria.” Agriculture,
he noted, provides a stable food base and food security for communities.
He
explained that food security refers to the availability of food and one’s
access to it. A family is considered food secure when its members do not live in
hunger or fear of starvation.
Food
security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and
economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary
needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.
Professor
Kehinde argued that investing in agriculture would provide jobs, which will
improve the standard of living for Nigerians. With proper policy and guidance,
farmers can be propelled to cultivate and produce protein-rich food crops. This
would serve as a great way to tackle the incidences of protein deficiency.
Proteins
are present in a wide range of foods such as soybeans, eggs, dairy, fish,
cowpea, whole grains, etc. but these food sources are becoming relatively
scarce in Nigeria. The scarcity of these protein foods has initiated a surge in
the levels of protein deficiency in the country. In addition, the scarcity of
these agricultural commodities has caused them to become costly.
The
Nigerian Protein Deficiency Report 2020 confirms this assertion.
According
to the report, “45 per cent (of respondents) believe that the high cost of
protein-rich foods is responsible for their low protein intake; 39 per cent
believe their low income is responsible for their low protein intake; 10 per
cent believe their little knowledge of its benefits is responsible for their
low protein intake, while 4 per cent believe that the scarcity of protein-rich
foods is responsible for their low protein intake.”
The
statistics are worrying. It is particularly so because the individuals most
vulnerable to protein deficiency are pregnant women and children. They deserve
to be prioritized in the consumption of protein-rich foods.
Fortunately,
there are actions that can be taken to mitigate the rates of protein deficiency
in the country. It must be deliberate, coordinated and collaborative.
The
obvious first step is an investment in agriculture on a large scale. Government
must support this action. It would involve the provision of arable land,
adequate storage facilities provided to store grains, seeds, tubers, and other
arable crops.
This
will increase food production and reduce post-harvest losses across regions – a
huge win in the quest to curb protein deficiency.
Agricultural
policies should be enacted to support the production of a diversity of
nutrient-rich foods, such as soybeans, legumes, quinea, groundnuts, among
others. Naturally, this must be consistent with nutrition priorities and goals,
including food-based dietary guidelines.
Research
on improving the productivity and quality of nutrient-rich commodities, as well
as policies that facilitate access to agricultural inputs and agricultural
support extension services for the production of nutritious foods, is equally
crucial to enabling the agric sector to thrive in Nigeria.
The
government could also intensify efforts towards the provision of farm
incentives and low-interest agricultural loans to smallholder farmers, who feed
communities with their crops.
The
continuous support of the agro-allied industries will enhance food security in
the nation.
Finally,
there must be subsidies on agricultural seeds and inputs, as the high cost of
items is a barrier to improved agricultural productivity and food security.
Take
poultry, for instance. The cost of feeding poultry in Nigeria today is
expensive because the main ingredients of poultry feed (soybeans and maize)
have become expensive. This is the sort of situation where subsidy is needed
and should be provided.
The
government must take a stand against the issue of malnutrition, to ensure that
the populace is truly food secure.
Agriculture
will pave the way to food security.
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