The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has warned about the declining rate of food cultivation of food by crop farmers due to insecurity.
At the Agriculture and Food Security Nexus Validation and Consolidation Meeting in Abuja, the Chief Operating Officer of NESG, Dr Tayo Aduloju, made the disclosure, and added that Nigeria suffers a huge supply-demand gap across all food crops, adding that Nigeria is not producing enough to meet local demand.
The NESG boss warned that there was a need for urgent action to be taken for Nigeria to become food sufficient, also called for a collective response to halt the demand and supply deficit and to possibly expand agriculture.
NESG’s Co-chair, Private Sector of the Agriculture and Food Security Policy Commission, Mr Omoboyede Olusanya, noted that reduced incomes, disrupted supply chains, chronic and acute hunger were on the rise in the country.
According to the Co-chair, “This increase is due to farmer-herder conflict, socio-economic conditions, natural hazards, climate change and pests, before COVID-19 pandemic which has slowed down, halted or reversed the last few years’ hard gains.”
He also warned that Nigeria is not on track to meet the SDGs without a sustained deliberate, decisive and collaborative approach.
