Combating the threat of famine

By Daniel Ighakpe

SIR: The World Food Programme (WFP), an agency of the United Nations (UN) recently stated that 584,000 people were experiencing famine-like conditions in Ethiopia, Madagascar, South Sudan and Yemen. Nigeria and Burkina Faso were also mentioned to be of particular concern.

What can help to curtail this threat of famine? David Beasley, the Executive Director of the United Nations’ World Food Programme, emphasized the urgent need for financial support. He said that the price tag to reach those 41 million people who are literally knocking on famine’s door is about $6 billion. “We need funding and we need it now,” he said.

Apart from funding, there is also a need to revive and transform our agricultural and food systems to, among other things, boost food sufficiency and deliver improved nutrition. All stakeholders need to redouble their efforts in this regard. It is not just about feeding people, it is also about providing the necessary nutrients for a healthy life.

Nigeria is currently grappling with security challenges, especially in the Northeast and Middle-Belt areas of the country. This has affected agriculture/farming in such areas, as many people are being hindered from planting or harvesting crops. In some cases, armed bandits insist on payments before allowing farmers to have access to farmlands during the planting season. These armed bandits return during the harvest season and extort money from the farmers before granting them any access to the farmlands. This has contributed to scarcity of food and a surge in the prices of certain food commodities. This situation is made even worse by a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in which northern states such as Borno, Adamawa and Yobe, have recorded new cases.

Climate change is another factor that contributes to famine. Floods and drought brought on by climate change make it harder to produce food. Erratic rainfall patterns have also severely disrupted local food production. As a result, the price of food has gone up and access has become more and more limited, putting many at higher risk of hunger.

Preventing further spread of acute food shortages must start with producing food where the need is greater. Prevention of famine must begin in the rural areas where people coping with high levels of food insecurity live. The focus in such areas should be on growing food where it is needed the most, and keeping animals alive. This can help to stabilize and increase local food production, and prevent a breakout of famine.

In more isolated rural areas especially, the critical role of local and backyard food production in keeping families alive cannot be overemphasized. The importance of sustaining livestock also cannot be overstated.

Additionally, it is important that both private and public schools at all levels establish viable school farms. School farms are not just spaces for growing food items; they are complete learning zones, which largely succeed in taking learning to new heights. The knowledge obtained from practical sessions on the school farm helps not only to reinforce what is taught in the classrooms.

It also teaches pupils and students about eating healthy, about how food arrives our homes from the farms, and so on. It also equips the pupils/students with first-hand knowledge of how to run agribusinesses, which can contribute toward the prevention of famine. Their learning should be brought right down to the community level, in terms of the most vulnerable people in the community. Some schools even encourage their children to do community service, and that is a good experience for them.

• Daniel Ighakpe,

FESTAC Town, Lagos.