The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Food

  • Food import bill hits N170b in six years

    Food import bill hits N170b in six years

    Dependence on imported foods has been on the increase, with N170.2 billion spent in six years, according to a report by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    It showed that as growth slowed, output became increasingly inadequate to meet rising demand for food and industrial raw materials.

    Consequently, the country became food import dependent, with rising import bills, which accelerated from N89.9 million in 1961 to N3.3 billion during 1981 to 1990; N62.7 billion in 1991 to 2000 and N170.2 billion in 2001 to 2006.

    At the continental level, the World Bank report, tagged, Africa Can Help Feed Africa, says the continent would generate an extra $20 billion in yearly earnings if its leaders can agree to dismantle trade barriers that blunt more regional dynamism.

    The World Bank said with many African farmers effectively cut off from the high-yield seeds, and the affordable fertiliser and pesticides needed to expand their crop production, the continent has turned to foreign imports to meet its growing needs in staple foods.

    “Africa has the ability to grow and deliver good quality food to put on the dinner tables of the continent’s families. However, this potential is not being realised because farmers face more trade barriers in getting their food to market than anywhere else in the world.

    Too often borders get in the way of getting food to homes and communities which are struggling with too little to eat,” Makhtar Diop, World Bank Vice President for Africa said.

    The report urges African leaders to improve trade so that food can move more freely between countries and from fertile areas to those where communities are suffering food shortages. “The World Bank expects demand for food in Africa to double by 2020 as people increasingly leave the countryside and move to the continent’s cities,” it said. It said countries south of the Sahara, could significantly boost their food trade over the next several years to manage the deadly impact of worsening drought, rising food prices, rapid population growth, and volatile weather patterns.

    It said Africa’s production of staple foods is worth at least $50 billion a year. The World Bank report said Africa’s farmers can potentially grow enough food to feed the continent and avert future food crises if countries remove cross-border restrictions on the food trade within the region.

    The new report suggests that if the continent’s leaders can embrace more dynamic inter-regional trade, Africa’s farmers, the majority of whom are women, could potentially meet the continent’s rising demand and benefit from a major growth opportunity. It would also create more jobs in services such as distribution, while reducing poverty and cutting back on expensive food imports.

     

  • Food poisoning

    Food poisoning may be from bacterial action in food or from chemicals (toxins) added to food.

    From ancient times, we have employed poisons in social strife. Many rulers, including popes, employed a “taster” (generally a slave or servant) to eat from their food before they proceeded to eat. If the taster did not die, the ruler would eat. This is because some poisons, once you consume them, take you to a point of no return. They may act fast and destructively and may have no easy antidote. People who experience evil rivalries or enmities often find themselves wary of the possibility of being poisoned.

    The most toxic poison known to man is botulinum toxin produced by a bacterium called Clostridium botulinum. Fortunately, the bacterium can be destroyed by adequate cooking. Botulinum toxin can accumulate in rotten meat and feces and can contaminate foods and drinks. You need only one gram of it to kill about 80,000 people.

    Some poisons cannot be tasted in food but they are deadly and only a miracle can save you from them. No wonder our parents taught us to pray before eating. I often wonder that Jesus told his followers that they shall drink poison and it will not hurt them. Obviously in his time and always, poisons may appear in our foods because they are regularly employed by enemies and people who see us as threats.

    Undetectable poisons include arsenic, sodium cyanide, potassium cyanide, compound 1080 (pesticide) and many drugs. Ricin from castor oil seeds is also a deadly poison. Potassium chloride, injected or taken orally in overdose, produces cardiac arrest (stops the heart) and causes rapid death. For autopsy, it leaves a void. These are some of the tools of professional assassins and people who have lost their minds.

    Inadvertent food poisoning may come from poor hygiene and bad cooking. If you consume food that contains harmful bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms and poisonous chemicals that they produce, you get food poisoning. Some of the notorious microorganisms that cause food poisoning are: Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella, Norovirus (stomach flu), Rotavirus (common in infants), Campylobacter enteritis, Bacillus cereus (found in starchy foods such as rice), Toxoplasma, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes (may progress to meningitis (brain infection)), Clostridium perfringens, Clostridium botulinum (nerve poison causing botulism), Vibrio cholera, Vibrio parahaemolyticus (found in fish and causes undercooked fish poisoning), Shigella (causes traveller’s diarrhoea) and Hepatitis A virus. These bacteria in culture are sometimes employed maliciously as a biological weapon to poison foods and drinks. Clostridium botulinum can be airborne and is a potential terrorist weapon for mass destruction. Diarrhoea and poisoning by parasites tend to last longer than bacterial poisoning. Giardia, Cryptosporidium, and Toxoplasma are transmitted through poor quality water and other means.

    Bacteria may act directly on the intestines to cause inflammation and impairment of water and nutrient absorption, hence diarrhoea or bacteria may produce toxins. These toxins can induce nausea and vomiting, kidney failure, and death.

    Bacterial food poisoning outbreak often occurs after large gathering feeding (picnics, social functions), during festivities, or in public eateries such as restaurants and school cafeterias. Travellers often get food poisoning in environments that they are not acclimatized to or lack immunity for (traveller’s sickness).

    Pregnant and breastfeeding women should especially take care to protect the foetus from Listeria and other infections. Older people and people with chronic illnesses may have weakened immunity and could be more prone to severe food poisoning.

    The common types of food poisoning start about 2-6 hours after consuming the poison. Symptoms of food poisoning include: abdominal cramps, diarrhoea, fever and chills, headache, nausea and vomiting, and weakness.

    In many cases of food poisoning, the person recovers without any special treatment within one or two days. Generally, a person may need to manage the diarrhoea, control nausea and vomiting, and rest. Your pharmacist can assist you. If symptoms of food poisoning are severe or chronic, (e.g. bloody stools) you should get clinical attention. Some cases may be deadly. Salmonella, Toxoplasma, and Listeria can kill especially in people with kidney disease, HIV/AIDS, or those receiving chemotherapy for cancer and have weaker immunity. Hepatitis A virus causes jaundice (yellowing of the eyes and skin). Food poisoning in children less than 3 years old, pregnant women, people with chronic illness, people who are on oral medication and are vomiting, and people with weak immunity such as HIV/AIDS or cancer patients should always be taken to a doctor.

    Non-bacterial toxic agents in foods can also cause food sickness. These include pesticides on fruits and vegetables. Some foods have natural toxins and should be properly prepared: cassava has cyanide, mushrooms and some fish have constitutive toxins, and some fish have toxins in algae they consume. If such fish are not safely prepared for eating they can produce sickness (e.g. ciguatera and scombroid).

    We may think we have stored meat, fish, and dairy products well by refrigerating them. While away from home or at work, long power-cuts may cause bacteria build-up even in foods that still look fresh. Improper storage, refrigeration, or handling of food can easily produce food poising.

    Life is short and we must enjoy our eating and drinking (as well as our fasting). Let us not spoil it with poison, through carelessness or through malice. Bon appetite!

     

    Dr. ’Bola John is a biomedical scientist based in Nigeria and in the USA. For any comments or questions on this column, please Email bolajohnwritings@yahoo.com or call 07028338910

  • Food prices to rise

    Experts have predicted substantial food price increases in 2013. Speaking with The Nation, a Deputy Director, Grants Management, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Dr Kola Adebayo, said there are supply chain pressures for food processing companies with higher grain prices, worsened by an unsteady economic climate and flooding.

    Adebayo said with the crisis facing the industry, higher prices are expected across the board. Among the food products likely to be most strongly affected, are livestock and poultry, reflecting the impact of higher feed costs.

    Looking ahead to 2013, he said inflation is expected to remain strong for most food products, adding that the impact of reduced supply will take several months and most of the impact is expected in the early part of next year.

    Adebayo said the effect of the flooding on major crops such as corn and other commodity crops will have a major effect on food prices.

    In his contribution, an agric economist, Dr Shittu Adebayo said sky-high maize and soya beans prices could deter use of the grain for feed

    In addition, he said it could affect supplies for food processing companies in the long-run. About 70 per cent of the feed grain is maize and soya beans.

    According to him, the challenge for food producers is passing on these costs through the supply chain.

    He said there will be upward pressure on food prices, driven by forces such as rocketing corn prices and the knock-on effect on animal feed.

    According to him, input costs that livestock farmers are facing to make a living are rising, which can be expected to lead to higher protein prices down the line.

    Meanwhile , flood has pushed up food prices as Inflation eases to 11.3 per cent.

    The Composite Consumer Price Index (CPI), which gauges the level of inflation in the country eased to 11.3 per cent in September from 11.7 per cent in August.

    But the drop in inflation is not reflective of the marginal rise in prices of food items as a result of the flood, which ravaged many parts of the country in the period under review.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • ‘We need more food producers’

    ‘We need more food producers’

    With flood washing off farmlands and homesteads in large parts of the country, the private sector has been urged to set up agro-based industries to shore up food supplies.

    Many farmers who would have been on their farms have been huddled up in relief camps alongside their families, posing grave danger not just for the moment but also next year.

    Already, prices of food items have gone up in several places, a development from which Abuja residents are not insulated.

    That was why Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide, called on the private sector to establish agro-based industries in the territory as part of efforts to increase food production.

    The minister, who made the call at the 2012 World Food Day in Abuja, advised that food production should not be the sole responsibility of government.

    She noted that the new policy thrust of government was to empower the farmer groups and the private sector to drive the agricultural transformation process.

    “The challenge before us is to produce food for the teeming population in this country. This cannot be seen as the responsibility of government alone. The private sector should take up the challenge of establishing agro-based industries in the FCT in particular, since there are tremendous potential and elaborate marketing outlets for these products,” said Akinjide, who was represented by her Special Assistant on Area Councils, Mr. Peter Fwa.

    She assured that the FCT Administration was ready to collaborate with any viable group to promote agriculture in the nation’s capital, particularly in the areas of improved farm inputs distribution, tractor hiring services, produce marketing and other value chain processes.

    “We have registered 8,000 co-operative societies of different economic backgrounds in the FCT. These include primary, secondary and apex co-operative organisations with total membership of about 1.2 million.

    “The FCT has already keyed into the Agricultural Transformation Agenda

    (ATA) of the present administration, and is at the forefront.

    Under the Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES), FCT has surveyed and captured

    over 50,000 farmers in its data bank. Of this number, a total of over 38,000 farmers have benefited from 3,279 metric tons of assorted fertilisers and improved seeds,” Akinjide revealed.

    GES is one of the key initiatives under the Agricultural Transformation Agenda aimed at revamping the agriculture sector, ensuring food security, diversifying the economy, and enhancing foreign exchange earnings.

    The minister advised small-scale farmers to unite and form viable commodity groups to maximise their entrepreneurships.

    “The FCT Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat (ARDS) under the Farmers’ Technology Empowerment Programme and the Public-Private

    Partnership (PPP) arrangement has procured 80 tractors with complete set of implements which have been distributed to FCT large scale farmers and farmers’ co-operative groups through the area councils for the farming season,” she added.

  • ‘Ekiti to become southwest’s food basket’

    ‘Ekiti to become southwest’s food basket’

    Ekiti State plans to be the Southwest’s food basket.

    Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources Mr Babajide Arowosafe told The Nation that the state has all it takes to achieve this dream.

    The administration, he said, has been encouraging young farmers to boost arable production.

    Governor Kayode Fayemi recently presented cheques of N500 million to 150 graduating participants of the Youth in Commercial Agricultural Development (YCAD) programme to boost commercial production of High Value Crops.

    The beneficiaries participated in a two-week agro-business start up and managerial training programme tagged “Start and Improve Your Business” (SIYB) under the Youth in Commercial Agricultural Development (YCAD) programme of the state government.

    The governor said each of the 150 participants would have access to an expandable credit facility of not less than N1.4 million to boost commercial production of rice, cassava, oil-palm and cocoa.

    Fayemi said the administration is directing its attention on measures aimed at facilitating the participation of youths in practising modern agriculture.

    The governor said: “I am delighted to inform you that my government, with the support of UNDP, had finalised the engagement of the service of a Business Support Manager to consolidate management of your individual businesses. The manager, with vast technical and farm business management skills, will help in hand-holding you to drive a successful commercial agricultural operation. Also, with several millions of naira committed to the purchase of farm equipment such as planters, boom sprayers, seed drills etc, he will support you in the usage of these newly acquired modern farm equipment for commercial plantation operations.”

    Fayemi said he hopes that by 2014, the state would have been able to generate at least 50 per cent of its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from agriculture.

    The state is renewing hectares of ageing cocoa plantations.

    Arowosafe said the revolution in the agricultural sector would create over 20,000 Jobs for Ekiti youths and raise the IGR by 100 per cent at maturity.

    He said young farmers have been supported by the government to cultivate 750 hectares of rice to boost food production in the state.

    He said: “We are modernising agriculture. For us, it has gone beyond subsistence level. We are giving it everything it takes and we are achieving results. We believe that with time, the results will keep improving until we get to our destination of making agriculture contribute immensely to our IGR. We are focussed and have the full support of the governor and will get there.”

    According to Fayemi, the desire to make the state the corridor for the agro allied sector would soon become a reality.

    He said: “Our desire to make Ekiti State an industrial corridor for the agro allied section of the national economy is a done deal. This will no doubt have a multiplier effect on the state economy. It should therefore be seen that this singular effort would deal a further blow on poverty structure in our land as another step to put the monster to flight in Ekiti State. I call on all farmers to take a full advantage of this opportunity to change their socio-economic status. Let me stress that the state government is taking this proactive step to make the state the first port of call after the commencement of the revolution at the federal level.

    “In the last one year, several cassava processing factories are in operation in the state. Vegafresh is producing cassava in Orin. Daatco just signed an MoU with our government.

    “I like to assure you all that the government will aggressively drive this project for our people particularly the army of young farmers to maximise its full advantages. I also like to emphasise that necessary support will be provided to make the Initiative a huge success. As a matter of fact, necessary organs of government have been mobilised in this regard.”

  • Nigeria’s gloomy food security future

    SIR: Barring unforeseen intervention from the government, Nigeria shall be facing food shortages in the next few years. The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) has said that 925 million people don’t have enough food to eat and 98% of this people live in emerging economies.

    Nigeria’s outlook for food security despite the laudable attempt by farmers to produce food is crushingly gloomy.
    This ominous situation is not eased by the fact that Nigeria is surrounded by countries that have encountered dreadful and severe droughts in the past. These nations are Niger, Chad, and Mali amongst others.

    The heart wrenching story of the recent famine in Somalia is still being told with so much resignation by international aid partners. While the situation in Somalia is not comparable to Nigeria’s, it doesn’t negate the fact that Nigeria is at the precipice of a serious food crises.

    Significantly, non governmental agencies have presented non-impeachable facts to the Nigerian government on the imminent food crisis. Oxfam, an international civil society group engaged in the fight against global poverty and hunger had warned the government to boost the nation’s food security system and prevent imminent food crisis
    Tackling the issue of food insecurity can’t be resolved if the Nigerian government continues to pay lip service to agriculture. Small-scale farmers should begin to be supported, encouraged, informed and educated. They can be the fan to ignite the ember of food security. This can be achieved by offering interest free loans to them. Also, modern farming techniques should be taught to the farmers. In addition, tax havens should be granted to importers of farm machineries.

    Furthermore, the youths must understand that agriculture is everybody’s business. The truth is except the youths are compelled to take up agriculture, they would keep running away. Perhaps, the National Youth Service Corp should be extended by one more year. The first year should be the usual service while the second year should be dedicated to farming. Without satisfying these criteria they should not be allowed to pass out. Parents should also engage their kids in farming by engaging themselves in farming too. Kids easily learn from their parents.

    Corporate organizations as part of their social responsibility must “adopt a farm” and support the farmers financially for better output.

    Nigeria must shelve the idea of playing the big brother by feeding other countries while her citizens go hungry.
    • Ogunfowoke, Adeniyi Ayuba
    Badagry, Lagos.