Low, fixed-income earners and unemployed Nigerians are in for trouble as living under the burden of higher food prices has become unbearable, as a result of grossly inadequate food supply.
This follows years of neglect of the agro-industrial sectors and disrupted farming activities caused by insurgency, banditry, kidnapping and herder/farmer clashes, as well as climate change, which also hampers productivity of farmers. This is compounded by COVID-19 interruptions in farming activities and gradual erosion of most farmers’ capital amid natural disasters of floods and droughts.
Udeala, aged 58, lamented that herdsmen’s invasion of farms has affected his activities seriously and that he could not commence farming early this year. Analysing the prevailing circumstance, experts are predicting that Nigeria is likely to experience famine and acute food shortage by next year as a result of the insecurity in the country.
In the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics food prices survey for May, released in June, the bureau stated that a dozen of medium-size table eggs was N650.84, but a survey at a popular mall and several other groceries and outlets in Lagos by The Guardian this week showed that the price ranged from N1000 to N1200. The bureau said one piece was N58.03, but street value is between N70 and N80 now.A kilogramme of beans , according to NBS, was N603.
One kilo of white gari was sold at N432.87 and yellow gari was sold at N470.61, but surveys by The Guardian indicated a kilogramme of packaged gari in supermarkets costs between N800 and N1000. The NBS report also stated that one kilo of white maize grain was sold at N383.16, while yellow maize grain was sold N451.05. The price hovers around N500 and N700 now, respectively.
Prof Osinbajo spoke in his remarks delivered virtually at the preparatory meeting of the United Nations Food Systems Summit 2021. The Pre-Summit is a prelude to the global event scheduled for Rome, Italy in September 2021. “The situation in many African countries is given increased urgency with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to growing levels of acute food insecurity. This is of great concern to all of us, especially if we recall that prior to the pandemic, the prevalence of severe food insecurity was as high as 22 per cent.”
The Guardian learnt many states, including Imo, Benue, Anambra, Kano Bauchi, Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Taraba and Zamfara are yet to implement the national minimum wage of N30,000.
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