Lagos — The sight of hordes of hungry citizens on the streets continues to raise serious concerns among stakeholders in the country, leading to frenzied efforts at different levels. In its efforts to find lasting solutions to these hunger worries, the Kaduna State government is investing heavily in agriculture and agribusiness.

Hunger has been generally defined as a feeling experienced, usually followed by a desire to eat. The often unpleasant feeling originates in the hypothalamus (part of brain which controls involuntary functions) and is released through receptors in the liver. Although an average, nourished individual can survive weeks without food intake, the sensation of hunger typically begins after a couple of hours without eating and is generally considered quite uncomfortable. The sensation of hunger can often be alleviated and even mitigated entirely with the consumption of food.

In particular, hunger has a strong effect on children's health no matter the income level of their families. Also, the infant mortality rate is closely linked to inadequate quantity or quality in the diet of the infant's mother. Iron-deficiency anaemia in children can lead to adverse health effects such as developmental and behavioural disturbances that can affect children's ability to learn to read or do mathematics, and increased susceptibility to lead poisoning. Anaemia remains a significant health problem among children of low-income earners, according to the Centre for Disease Control.

Other studies have shown that pregnant women who are undernourished are more likely to have low-birth weight babies. These infants are more likely to suffer delays in their development and are more likely to have behaviour and learning problems later in life. According to the Tufts University Centre on Hunger, Poverty and Nutrition Policy, evidence from recent research about child nutrition shows that, in addition to having a detrimental effect on the cognitive development of children, under-nutrition results in lost knowledge as well as loss in brainpower, and productivity for the nation.

The need to tackle the scourge of hunger globally led to the coinage and eventual propagation of food security by nations and Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) battling for equality especially for third world countries. And one avenue which is used to boost food security is agriculture. The need to boost food security must have prompted Governor Namadi Sambo's commitment to agriculture as he makes it one of the top priorities of his 11 point agenda.

Sambo had, in 2008, while receiving some members of the senate on a courtesy visit in his office, decried the level of poverty which he put at 70 per cent of the population of Kaduna state. Then, he had declared that available records showed that 80 percent of Kaduna's 6,066,562 population was engaged in one form of agriculture or another which leads to them producing both food and cash crops. With this statistics, Sambo said, "we have no reason to be hungry". He stressed that the state is naturally endowed with soil and the right climate for the production of various crops and wondered how the citizens could remain poor and hungry. Available records also reveal that of the 4.4 million cultivable hectares of land in the state, only 2.02 million is under actual cultivation.

But things are beginning to change. According to the state commissioner of Information, Saidu Adamu, interventions in the agriculture sector by the state government in the last two years have completely transformed the sector for the benefit of the populace. His words: "Under the irrigation scheme, the state government has, through the agriculture ministry, increased farmers' participation and funding through the provision of irrigation facilities in various locations across the state. Similarly, new irrigation schemes have been initiated in Farakwai, Pambegua, Jagindi, Anguwan Jaba, Kaya, Panshanu, Bakin Kogi, Galma and Jere.

Work has started on the Hunkuyi low dam project. Don't forget the fact that this administration initiated the construction of grain silos at Giwa at a total cost of N877m to boost the existing four silos at Zaria, Saminaka, Kafanchan and Birnin Gwari. In a deliberate effort to enlighten and educate farmers on new farming skills and technologies, the government has strengthened the extension services department to meet the modern day demands of modern farming.

Also, a tractor hiring service scheme has been established for the benefit of farmers in the state. All of these efforts have registered appreciable degrees of success. This is attested to by the bumper harvest recorded in the state n 2008 and the growing crop yield of 2009."

On his part, Sambo has identified women and children as the most vulnerable victims of hunger in the state. To him, the situation is compounded by lack of adequate feeding, accelerated by lack of job opportunities and apathy for farming by able bodied men in the state.

To address these problems, he said he has decided to make agriculture lucrative and attractive to the people with a view to not only putting food on their table, but also turning it into a good source of livelihood. And, in demonstration of his commitment to improving agricultural production, in 2008, a total of 70,000 metric tones of fertilizer was procured at the cost of N7billion and sold out to farmers at subsidized rates. Similarly, 60 tractors were procured and distributed to all the local government areas in the state for hiring services just as grain silo projects in Birnin Gwari, Lere, Saminaka and Kafanchan with 10,000 metric tones capacity each were promptly completed to take care of the envisaged excess grains and avoid wastage. Within the period in review, a number of agriculture related programmes were carried out.

These include root and tuber expansion programme, food security programme and Fadama Development programme. During the growing season, the sum of N100 million was made available to the farmers' cooperative societies established in every local government area of the state for distribution to their members in order to enhance food production for both domestic and commercial purposes.

In 2009, despite the global economic meltdown, N8.26 billion was allocated and spent on various agricultural development programmes. Out of this amount, procurement and distribution of fertilizer, totalling 50,000 metric tones gulped N5.48 billion while the rehabilitation and construction of strategic grains storage facilities took N168 million. Interestingly, each bag of the assorted fertilizer was sold at half of its purchased cost. The subsidy therefore amounted to over N2.5 billion. Agro-chemicals worth N15 million, as well as improved seedlings worth N32 million were purchased and distributed to farmers just as animal traction got N189 million.

Within the period under review, irrigation pumps and spraying equipment worth N549 million were ordered for distribution at subsidized rates to dry season farmers across the state. And to avoid waste, as well as encourage more people to engage in farming as an occupation, the state government decided to purchase from farmers, grains worth N13.5 million. The grains were stored in the government's grain reservoirs.

Thus, apart from helping farmers to get value for their labour, the interest of the citizens of Kaduna state was protected as these grains are expected to be released for sale at affordable prices in order to force down prices of same during scarcity.

In what looks like diversification, bee keeping is now one of the state government's agricultural initiatives.

Thus, while a number of people (men and women alike) have received formal training at the expense of the state government, the state has expended the sum of N4 million on the promotion of bee farming. For all year round farming activities, a number of dams have been constructed for irrigation purpose. And in addition, contracts for the construction of Hunkuyi, Kuzuntu and Kufana earth dams worth N1.3 billion have already been awarded while consultancy services have been employed for production, design and documentation for the construction of three multi-purpose dams that will provide water for about 70,000 hectares of irrigation land in Kaduna metropolis up to the year 2035.

Just as it was in 2008, the state's farmers empowerment programme in 2009 witnessed the disbursement of N100 million to a total of 5,795 registered farmers through their respective cooperative societies in the 23 local government areas of the state. Also distributed to them that year were tractors and equipment totalling 216 in number. These efforts are clear testimonies to the fact that Sambo administration is matching words with action.

Between the months of May and June 2009, Governor Sambo undertook a tour of the state to familiarize himself with the developments on ground. During the exercise which featured commissioning and flagging off of projects in each of the 23 local government areas he visited, farmers' cooperative societies were given loans of N400, 000 each. This intervention by the governor to support small scale farmers amounted to N4 million per local government and a total of N92 million across the state. Even the large scale farmers were not left out as they also got a total of N200 million in soft loans, to enable them perform better in their endeavours.

The governor, who vowed to fight poverty and hunger in the state, said he is out to mobilise farmers to put all the arable land in the state into use by making sure that traditional methods are replaced with more modern farming inputs and techniques. In the light of this, he announced last month that the attention of his administration this year is basically going to be focused on agriculture, adding that nothing good comes out of a man with an empty stomach.

The present efforts are, no doubt, commendable. A continuation on these paths would definitely reduce hunger in the state. And, as things get better for the strong and able-bodied, the not-so-strong, the women and the children would also benefit. If the state government continues to confront hunger the way it is doing presently, then there would be less hunger and poverty in the land.