Agriculture experts have proffered reasons why the Federal Government’s food palliatives are ineffective in addressing Nigeria’s growing food prices.
The experts said this in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Lagos.
NAN reports that the Federal Government promised the distribution of staple food items to underprivileged households across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to address the growing food inflation.
Akin Alabi, agriculture expert and co-founder of Corporate Farmers International, said the distribution of palliatives was not a solution to the current food crisis.
“We have to understand that Nigeria has a population of more than 200 million people. If the government wants to provide intervention in terms of food, can they really provide for 200 million people?
“The government can only provide for 10 per cent of the entire households within the population.
“Definitely, it is rather impossible to get the true effect of any Federal Government palliative down to the citizens,” Alabi said.
“The only way we can have effect is when we begin to deal directly or provide solutions to the cost of primary production by providing subsidy for farm inputs,” he said.
Alabi also called for the empowerment of farmers in primary food production either in livestock or crop cultivation to enhance food security.
“Without these, we will only be struggling and there is no amount of palliatives the government wants to roll out that will cushion the food inflation.
“How long can a 10kg or 5kg of rice feed a household? Very limited days.
“When the government begins to look at the major causes of food inflation through primary food production, then we can have ripple effects on food inflation, if not we will just keep deceiving ourselves.
“There is no economy that survives on palliatives,” the expert said.
On his part, Dr Ismail Olawale, a strategic agriculture communication expert, queried the method of the palliatives distribution.
“The problem with the palliatives is that there is a kind of uncoordinated distribution system.
“Today, you will hear that the Federal Government has given some 200,000 households some amount of money and at another time, you will hear that some metric tonnes of rice has been distributed.
“There is a problem on how these palliatives are distributed hence the lack of evidence of its effect on food prices.
“Are people benefitting from the cash palliatives still beneficiaries of the foodstuff palliatives? This grey line should be cleared.
“We should also address the issue of favouritism in the distribution of the palliatives by politicians and their affiliates.
“We should ensure even distribution of these palliatives by reaching out to the targeted people and households,” Olawale said.
He also stressed the need for adequate monitoring of the distribution for maximum impact.
“We are also not sure if there is a functional line in monitoring the distribution of the palliatives for its effects to be evident.
“Also, we need to consider the sustainability of these palliatives, to see their effect on food prices.
“The government should also set market policies that will help crash the cost of food items,” he added.
Also speaking, Omotunde Banjoko, an agriculture analyst and farmer, called for sustainable solutions to address food inflation.
“The food palliatives being distributed cannot solve the current food prices challenge.
“The problems we are facing presently have root causes and until they are addressed, food distribution cannot be the solution.
“One major issue we see with the palliatives is the ineffective distribution. If for example, 300 people are sharing a half bag of rice, how effective will it be on the current food prices?
“We have seen cases where these food palliatives are being diverted. So, we doubt the effect it will have on food inflation.
“The solution to what we are currently facing is to address insecurity on farms, ensure proper funding for farmers to increase their capacity, and provide farm equipment on lease to farmers to increase food production,” Banjoko said
He also reiterated the need for youth inclusion in agriculture to boost local production.
“Youths should be encouraged to embrace increased local production.
“We should put in place the right agriculture policies, set up commodity boards to regulate prices and recapitalise the Bank of Agriculture so that farmers can have access to zero-interest loans.
“Let us look into improving our agriculture value chains and storage.
“We need to address the real issues and stop the waste of resources or emptying our reserves. Palliatives are not the solution to food inflation,” Banjoko.