Why Nigeria is battling high levels of hunger - Peter Obi

Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections says "Nigerians spend the entirety of their disposable income on food" as the world marked World Food Day.

Obi in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter urged the government to always remember that the food crisis remains a challenge in Nigeria urging the government of the day "to invest heavily in agriculture, to ensure sufficient food production for Nigeria and the global world."

National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its latest report said costs of food items, and others pushed inflation to an 18-year high rise of 26.72 percent in September.

The report said the increases in prices of oil and fat, bread and cereals, potatoes, yam and other tubers, fish, fruit, meat, vegetables and milk, cheese, and eggs as the causes of the inflation spike.

Read Peter Obi's tweet

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Obi said the food crisis had remained a serious challenge for many households in the country, noting that “a vast majority of Nigerians spend the entirety of their disposable income on food, which is often hardly enough.”

Obi also urged the government to find urgent solutions to the food crisis, saying: “As the global community marks World Food Day today, we must remind ourselves of the present food crisis in the nation, and seek urgent steps to salvage the people from further hunger and starvation.

“Food crisis has remained a serious challenge facing many households in Nigeria, as the country is reported, by Global Hunger Index, to be facing a serious hunger level.

“With more than half of the population living in poverty, a report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has shown that over 90 million Nigerians face food insecurity, thus posing obstacles to a healthy population and human development.

“In the 2023 Global Hunger Index, Nigeria ranked 109th out of the 125 countries measured, showing that we currently battle high levels of hunger. Reports have it that Nigeria’s food inflation rate in August 2023 was about 30 percent on a year-on-year basis.” He also lamented that constant attacks on farmers in the country by armed and terrorist groups were pushing the country towards a hunger crisis.

“The horrible spate of attacks on farmers in Nigeria by armed and terror groups have continued to hinder food production, food supplies and therefore, threatening to push the country deeper into a devastating hunger crisis. Lack of adequate investment in agriculture also contributes greatly to food crisis in Nigeria.

“I have maintained that the vast fertile lands in the North, if put into productive agricultural use, will produce enough food for domestic consumption and for exports, which can give us more revenue than we generate from oil.

“Government, therefore, must invest heavily in agriculture, to ensure sufficient food production for Nigeria and the global world. Happy World Food Day,” he said.

NBA