‘Lack of Political Will, Bane Of Food Security’

The much talked about food insecurity plaguing the country has been blamed on the failure of the political class to address the issue head-on.

Baring his mind on the issue recently at his country home, Owerewere in Abua, an agricultural engineer, Mr. Mensah Muzan, explained that what was lacking was storage facilities, and not food per se.

He said that even through mechanised agriculture has been relegated to the background, the country could still boast of the abundance of food, especially during harvest period.

He explained that land which gurantees production was in abundance across the country and that most crops did not even need fertiliser for increased yield and output.

He called on the government to focus attention on the establishment of processing plants across the country in order to boost storage and reserve.

On complaints by some farmers in securing agricultural loans, Engr. Muzan said even though government makes provision for such facilities, banks do not deal with genuine farmers directly.

“All these things are not done holistically as the process more often than not is hijacked by portfolio farmers”, he said.

He said most of the factories that were inherited from the colonial masters were left to rot, like the oil palm mills among others.

He explained that Nigeria was blessed with qualified personnel and manpower and called for the strengthening of the various agricultural institutions like the Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute among others.

While expressing regret at the way seasonal crops like maize, mangoes native pear and others were consumed immediately after harvest, Engr. Muzan stressed that the only way to increase Nigeria’s agricultural self reliance was through adequate post harvest loss prevention measures which he said “can only be achieved through a pragmatic political will”.