Once more, food insecurity and the hunger crisis have forced Nigeria to face a crossroads. Protests have erupted across the nation, and young people are going on the rampage in numerous states, resulting in sorrows, tears, and blood. At least 20 lives have been tragically lost due to the protest, and properties have been destroyed. While Anambra youths are not participating, their governor has flagged off the “FARM TO FEED” campaign to end hunger in the state in a few months.
With the twin economic policies of the Tinubu administration—fuel subsidy removal and the floating of the Naira—causing suffering and hunger, many Nigerians wonder what the state governments have done to address hunger. There are three levels of government in Nigeria’s presidential democracy, each with specific constitutional duties. However, since most state governments have failed to provide for their citizens as they ought to, all eyes have been on the federal government for democracy dividends.
Professor Chukwuma Soludo, the governor of Anambra State, is one state governor who stands out for being very distinct. With the launching of the “FARM TO FEED” campaign, he provided a novel and practical response to the countrywide hunger protest.
By launching the campaign, Soludo gave Ndi Anambra a direct route to producing what they eat and eating what they produce in a few months. This back-to-farm campaign is expected to result in a bumper harvest in just one year. If all the governors do something similar and take agriculture seriously, a multiplication of this method throughout the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory will simply eradicate hunger and bring down food prices nationwide.
Even though Anambra youths are not participating in the nationwide street protests taking place in most of the federation’s states, the state government’s response to the ongoing hunger protest is undoubtedly a historical, realistic, and constructive step towards contributing to the solution and addressing the hunger crisis and food insecurity in the country.
Soludo applauded the Anambra youths for forgoing protests in the streets and joining his government’s new method of putting an end to hunger in Anambra and perhaps the nation. In the words of Soludo: “Our youths are saying that while complaining and protesting are good things, it is better to take action.”
Soludo correctly pointed out that decades of neglecting agriculture was the root cause of the hunger crisis and that this would spell disaster for the country if proper measures were not taken. The majority of food products, including yam, rice, cassava, beans, and so forth, are now heavily imported into the country, even though the nation ought to be exporting these products on a global scale.
The governor of Anambra state made the point that the only way to end hunger in Nigeria permanently is for the people to take collective action in collaboration with the government. He remembered the years of hardship between 1982 and 1985 when people had to wait in queue without end to get essential commodities like rice, vegetable oil, sugar, salt and even detergents. Since everyone can do something, Soludo wants the complaints to shift to actions.
According to the international economist cum governor, the only method to solve food inflation, which is a significant cause of inflation, is to lower food prices. However, lowering food prices requires addressing the food supply side of the equation, which in turn addresses poverty.
According to him, his government is already implementing some policies that are addressing incentives, such as providing commercial farmers with inexpensive financing through cheap capital, improved seedlings and certain inputs that are subsidised, building rural infrastructure to reduce post-harvest losses, and enhancing the supply chain to urban areas.
He promised to continue paying close attention to the insecurity that prevents farmers from working their land. More than two million palm, coconut, and other uncommon economic tree saplings as well as cash crops have already been given to Ndi Anambra by the Soludo government. Ten million of these tree seedlings and cash crops are intended to be shared by his government in the end. This is a component of the state’s new industrial ecosystem and wealth generation. Also, his government has been offering smallholder farmers various forms of assistance.
This is a straightforward plan and cooperation agreement between the Anambra people and all levels of government to end hunger and guarantee a large food supply on a sustainable basis within the next 12 months.
Even though his government would offer all the incentives, according to Soludo, it would all be for nothing if there were no citizens or young people to farm. He reminded the public servants that farming is the only extra job permitted by the constitution for public employees to work part-time, meaning that everyone can farm. Thus, he desired farming and agriculture to become a new source of pride for all, not just young people alone. “If you can’t feed the nation, at least feed yourself or even your family… Let us turn every vacant piece of land into a farm, even if it is five square meters. Rent a space if you can, but plant something,” Soludo urged.
He also pointed out that farming is possible in urban centres thanks to a growing trend of farming in sacks. As a result, he believes that everyone can produce something, whether it be vegetables, onions, peppers, potatoes, or tomatoes.
According to Soludo, he won’t consider his government a complete success until hunger is fully subdued in Anambra. The governor is aiming to create new enterprises to process the fruits and sell them outside the state, starting with food production. Added to this, he guaranteed that the agro-revolution is a component of the organic farming and regenerative agriculture he launched two years ago, which lessens the emphasis on fertiliser use in favour of returning to nature and producing and consuming organic food, which prolongs and improves human life.
Governor Soludo listed working with local governments, churches, schools, and other organisations as one of the implementation tactics to make sure that everyone is involved and every space is used for cultivation.
The other is developing plans to encourage public employees to spend some time farming and rewarding those employees and political appointees who produce the most food or livestock. Declaring that the evaluation phase in a year would be called “operation show your farm,” he pledged to take the lead by returning to the farm himself, even with his demanding schedule as governor.
Governor Soludo’s statement, ” Ndị Anambra, Nigerians, we are Nigerians! Nigeria is the biggest black nation on earth. There is nothing we set our mind to do that we cannot achieve if everybody takes responsibility. We have a saying in Igbo that “aka aja na-ebute ọnụ mmanụ mmanụ” (It’s by soiling your hands that you become entitled to having an oily mouth) made his case.
Let the governors who don’t care much about agriculture take a similar step. Let every state strive to produce as much as it consumes. In this manner, food imports will end, hungerd will be eliminated, and foreign exchange previously used for food imports will be released to other vital sectors.