Business Post Contributor
By Jerome-Mario Utomi
If there is any fresh fact that supports the claim by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in November 2022 that the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) is higher in rural areas than in urban areas, it is my experience during a short visit to Agbor, a community which, according to Wikipedia, is the most populous among the Ika people, located in and functions as the headquarter of Ika South Local Government Area of Delta State in South-south geo-political zone of Nigeria.
Among many other observations, the referenced report puts the MPI in rural areas at 72% and that of urban areas at 42%, thereby confirming that a much higher proportion of people living in rural areas compared to those living in urban areas are multidimensionally poor.
The report further noted that 63% (about 133 million people), that is about 6 out of every 10 Nigerians, are multidimensionally poor, with 65% (86 million) and 35% (47 million) of the poor living in the North and South of Nigeria, respectively. The implication is that location matters with respect to poverty and unemployment.
Essentially, as a Nigerian resident in Lagos, I have come across many reports that underlined Nigeria as a nation confronted with both food insecurity and crisis. Again, aside from witnessing commentators argue at different times and places that when food continues to rise in price, everyone feels it, but those with less money, understandably, feel it far more, as they have to spend more of their money on the essentials: housing and food.
I have also, on the other hand, before embarking on that trip, seen parents go without food to ensure that children can eat. Particularly, as prices of staple foods in Lagos, such as rice have reportedly morphed from N35.000 to well over N50,000. Other items such as noodles have equally and appreciably added in prices as the smallest pack which used to sell for N100 now hovers between N130 and N150.
While these heightened price regimes were considered worrying by Lagosians, new facts derived from my latest visit show that if the ongoing food inflation in Lagos is a challenge, the experience in local communities/small towns like Agbor is a crisis.
I arrived at Agbor in the evening and was adequately taken care of by my host and, therefore, made it straight to my hotel room without having any contact with food vendors within and outside the guest house.
The following morning, I thought it wise to observe my breakfast before resuming the assignment that brought me to the town. I approached the reception to ascertain what their breakfast arrangement looks like but was told in plain language that they have no provision/arrangement for such.
With that response, I stepped out onto Old Lagos-Asaba road and just a few buildings away from the guest house was a ‘fast food’ vendor. As it was breakfast that I needed, I politely requested that he prepare two packs (the smallest size) of noodles and two eggs for me. And just immediately, she replied; it will cost you N1,200. How come? I asked. If this is sold at this price, how can jobless Nigerians, particularly the youths, afford such meals? I further queried. Then she replied; Oga, that is the amount; it is either you buy or leave me alone. The jobless Nigerians you are talking about are already aware of the price regime. The rest they say is history.
Scene 2: In the afternoon of the same day, while on my way back to the guest house, I saw a woman who sells roasted yam by the roadside. The pieces of yam displayed were ‘wickedly’ cut into tiny framed sizes and could conveniently be likened to the worth sold for N100 in Lagos. I greeted the woman and thereafter, pointed at two pieces. She replied saying; it was N400. Without pressing further or seeking further clarification, I requested that she prepare it for me.
Handing over the yam to me, which was garnished with three pieces of meat sold at N600 (N200 a piece), I innocently flashed one thousand naira note at her. Lo and behold, the woman told me that I had to give her an additional N200 as the total value of what I bought was N1200. How come? When? I asked at the same time. It was then that she explained to me that the two pieces of yam were actually sold for N800 at N400 per piece.
Also devastating and of course another reason for us to be alarmed is the awareness that this galloping inflation in Agbor, Delta State and its environs is not limited to food items alone but affects accommodation. In what is in some ways a more brazen move is that in Agbor, house rent is higher when juxtaposed with the experience in some parts of Lagos.
This is the challenge facing communities in our republic. The high cost of food and accommodation in Agbor may have existed in an overt manner, the experience in other towns and communities in the country may be worse but exists in covert forms.
Talking about food insecurity in Nigeria, many have argued that the food challenge in the country has been impacted especially by violent conflicts, including the insurgency in the North East; armed banditry in the Northwest; perennial farmer/herder conflicts in the North Central, South West, and increasingly across the country; and separatist agitation in the South East among others.
To others, the challenge is exacerbated by natural disasters; in particular, the rising incidence and frequency of floods in large parts is a consequence of climate change impact, which continues to affect food production and the availability and affordability of food.
A sterling example is the report by the National Emergencies Management Agency (NEMA), 2022 which among other remarks observed that floods led to the destruction and washing away of over 675,000 hectares of farmland.
“One can only imagine the extent of the impact of this scale of destruction of farmlands on agricultural activities and food production across the country. Farmers, the majority of whom are small-scale farmers, lost not only crops and harvests, but also farm animals, poultry, fishery, and farm implements to the raging floods.”
Whatever the true picture may be, there are in the opinion of this piece multiple reasons why the federal and of course state governments in Nigeria should undertake strategic efforts to solve the problem of food inflation not just in Agbor but across the country.
Aside from the fundamental relationship between the food crisis and inflation and its harmful effects on every economy, the human population in the country quadrupled and unemployment multiplied in the past decades and the average impact of this uncontrolled increase on the nation’s economy is tellingly obvious.
Undoubtedly, I believe and still believe that as a country desirous of achieving sustainable development, the recent decision by the Federal Government to launch the conditional cash transfer policy for 15 million households on October 17, 2023, will not resolve the present hunger challenge in the country.
Rather, there are both specific and specialized reasons for the government to throw its weight behind agriculture by creating an enabling environment that will encourage Nigerian youths to take to farming.
First, aside from the worrying awareness that by 2050, global consumption of food and energy is expected to double as the world’s population and incomes grow, climate change is expected to have an adverse effect on both crop yields and the number of arable acres, we are in dire need of solution to this problem because unemployment has diverse implications.
Security-wise, a large unemployed youth population is a threat to the security of the few that are employed. Any transformation that does not have job creation as its main objective will not take us anywhere and the agricultural sector has the capacity to absorb the teeming unemployed youth in the country.
The second reason is that globally, there are dramatic shifts from agriculture in preference for white-collar jobs, a trend that urgently needs to be reversed.
Separate from job creation, averting malnutrition which constitutes a serious setback to the socio-economic development of any nation is another reason why Nigeria must embrace agriculture, a vehicle for food security and a sustainable socio-economic sector.
In fact, it was noted recently that in Nigeria, governments over the years have come to realize that sustainable growth is achievable only under an environment in which the generality of the people is exposed to a balanced diet, not just food. This explains why agricultural production should receive heightened attention. In Nigeria, an estimated 2.5 million children under five suffer from severe acute malnutrition (sam) annually, exposing nearly 420,000 children within that age bracket to early death from common childhood illnesses such as diarrhoea, pneumonia and malaria.
This is the best time for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led federal government and state governors to serve and save Nigerians from malnutrition and multi-dimensional poverty.
God bless Nigeria!!!
Utomi Jerome-Mario is the Programme Coordinator (Media and Policy) at the Social and Economic Justice Advocacy (SEJA), Lagos. He could be reached via [email protected]/08032725374
