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Nigeria: Food Crisis,Not Just Rice
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Vanguard (Lagos)
13 May 2008
Posted to the web 14 May 2008
Lagos
IN reacting promptly to our editorial of Friday May 2 2008 (Food Crisis - FG's N80b Deafness) by canceling the planned expenditure of N80 billion on importation of rice, the Federal Government agreed with our position that it should invest the money in domestic agricultural production.
While we should applaud the government for stopping what should have been a huge waste to the public, it is pertinent to point out that our governments function with very little information. Its earlier plan to import should shock anyone who has paid attention to a global rice crisis. Each country has domesticated its consequences, in relation to its people.
Global rice stocks are at their lowest level in 32 years, and foreign sales restrictions by many producing-nations have put about a third of the rice traded in the international market beyond the reach of poor and medium income countries. Data from the US Department of Agriculture show that world rice inventories now stand at about 72 million tons, enough to cover only about 17 per cent of global annual consumption in 2008. Eight years ago, stockpiles equalled 35 per cent of demand.
What informed the decision to import a non-available commodity? The contractor class, ever on the search for opportunities to import things still dominates the slant of government decisions.
Our government is fond of throwing figures at us. We deserve solutions that are relevant to our situation, and that are lasting.
Those in government believe that once they give us figures, the problems have been handled. It is worse that in this instance, the N80 billion that was meant for rice was in blatant disregard of Section 80 (4) of our Constitution which states, No moneys shall be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund or any other public fund of the Federation, except in the manner prescribed by the National Assembly. The President and some Governors decided to withdraw the N80 billion from the National Disaster Fund. They knew they did not have the powers and their conduct was outside the rule of law.
We expect the President to return to the National Assembly with a supplementary budget to tackle the national food emergency, not by way of rice importation. He should test the claim of our rice farmers that they can produce enough to feed the country and maybe for export. Poor technologies and absence of infrastructure deal blows to food production in Nigeria.
There are no roads for rural farmers cannot move their products to the urban areas. Storage and preservation facilities are inadequate. A dedicated investment in agriculture with these areas as targets would enhance the ability of Nigerians to feed themselves.
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Only last March, the National Economic Council announced that it needed N950 billion to address sustainable food security. The frightening thing about this N950b, like the N80 billion proposed to import rice, is that it could have been someone's agenda to milk Nigeria dry, something that is done these days with patriotic flair.
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