INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Frankly speaking food is a basic necessity of life, its important is seen in the fact that, it is the basic need for sustenance, and the adequate food intake in respect to quantity and quality, is a vital key for health and productive living. The importance of food is also revealed in the fact that it accounts for substantial part of a typical Nigeria household budget. However, taking into account that there are various classes of food, such as carbohydrates, protein, fat and oil, vitamin and mineral, and all these classes of food are required in good quantity and quality to maintain a healthy living. Currently there is a growing census that food insecurity and poverty problem are closely related in Nigeria[1] identified.
Three pillars, which is under pin food insufficiency in Nigeria, to include.
This implies that a nation whose food production level is unable to satisfy these requirements is said to have problem of food insufficiency
However, in view of the foregoing problem of food insufficiency in Nigeria. The Federal Ministry of Agriculture in 2010[2] revealed that over 53million people in Nigeria are hungry, accounting to 30% of the country total population, and 52% live below poverty line. However, it is crystal clear that Nigeria attained self sufficiency in food production and a next exporters of food to other continent/region as at `1950’s
and 1960s
,Thus, the fall in the food production level, has resulted in the increase in food importation in Nigeria, so as to meet up with the asses demand over the supply of such food in Nigeria. Despite government polices and intervention to prevent this menace, the question is whether these government policies has actually achieved the intended objective. It is in view of the foregoing that this research intended, to ascertain the major cause of this food insufficiency in Nigeria.
1.2 Statement of Problem
Food insufficiency is one of the major problems suffered by many countries which Nigeria is not left behind and many efforts has been made to improve food supply and solve the problem of hunger as Nigeria is not excepted in the struggle to prevent food crisis. Many hands are on deck to solve this looming problem; among them are research institutions, tertiary institutions, government agencies and non-governmental organization. Food sufficiency implies the availability of food at all time for every house hold, whereas food insufficiency is the opposite. This research tends to solve the problem of food insufficiency thereby promoting agriculture in Nigeria through the aid of institutional and legal frameworks. One of the problem that tends to prevent the actualizational of this dream, is poor equipment used by farmers, fragmentation of land into smaller portions little or no legal frameworks etc hinders large scale agriculture in Nigeria. In spite of this, farm mechanization is recommended as a necessity to increase food productivity in Nigeria and reduce hunger to the lowers minimum.
1.3 Objective of Study.
The main objective of this study is to examine and evaluate the food sufficiency situation in Nigeria and the challenges of achieving sustainable food sufficiency for all Nigerians and probably the way forward towards its actualization.
1.4 Scope of the Study
This research work is limited to investigating the relevant course of food insufficiency in Nigeria, government effort with regard to policy programmes, in actualizing food sufficiency for Nigeria taking into account that food is one of the basic needs of man. This research is aimed at investigating the relevant jurisdiction of Nigeria, so as to ascertain the extent of food sufficiency in some of the jurisdictions, problems causing availability of enough food, and possibly prefer solution to them.
1.5 Significant of Study
The above mentioned problem of food insufficiency is common to all developing countries, and findings of this research will contribute to the application of policy design and analysis in policy evaluation which is one of the new research spearhead, especially within the framework of government, and spatial Information management (GSIM) programme, and evaluating policy effectiveness is also viewed by many as the basic tools for monitoring progress. Despite its usefulness, critical evaluation of policy effectiveness is not carried out in majority of the developing countries like Nigeria.
Therefore it is in this respect that this research work, intended to carry out a study so as to evaluate the effectiveness of food sufficiency policy in Nigeria, with the view to ensuring food sufficiency in Nigeria.
1.6 Research Methodology
This research work employed both primary and secondary sources in it research in order to achieve its aim and objectives the primary data in this context relate to legislation (statute) and case laws, whereas the secondary data, relate to relevant research on text books, journals, Newspaper, magazines, and also adopted both analystical and comparative method of research.
1.6.1 Literature Review
An appreciable body of knowledge and information has been generated by different researchers, and authors on the wide range of issues, related to the subject matter of study. This aspect of this research work is considered necessary because it explores critically the mass of literature. Through an in-depth look at concept, theories principles, and related empirical studies. Which help to ascertain the scopes and limitation of other studies in this subject matter, effort are made to cover as much as possible issues relating to the research question and the scope of this study. The literature review is done in three parts the first is done or looked at the conceptual literature the second reviewed the present theoretical literature and depicts the framework of food sufficiency, whereas the last part of the review studies is carried out on food sufficiency. Food sufficiency is a condition related to the supply of food and individual access to it, and the concerns over, throughout history.
There is evidence of granaries being used over the year for over, 10.000, years ago, with central authorities in civilization, including china and Egypt being known to release food from storage in time of famine, thus during 1974 food conference in Rome, the term food sufficiency was defined with reference to supply. Food security and sufficiency their said is the “Availability at all time of adequate world food supplies of basic food stuff to sustain a steady expansion of food consumption and to offset fluctuation in production and prices” food security is generally broken down into four different component.
Availability, Access Utilization, Vulnerability. Each capturing different, but overlapping dimension of the subject matter.
Firstly food Availability is achieved when sufficient quantity of food is consistently available to all individuals, within a country, such food can be supplied through household production other domestic output, commercial imports or food assistance.
Secondly, food access is ensured when house hold and all individuals within them have adequate resources to obtain appropriate food for a nutritious diet, this access depends on availability of income to the household, on the distribution of income within the household and on the price of the food. For person living in Urban Area, food access depends primarily on the household’s ability to purchase food, most urban dwellers neither have large food stores, nor do they have access to area for aim food production.
Thirdly, food Utilization is the proper biological use of food, requiring a diet, providing sufficient energy and essential nutrients, portable water, and adequate sanitation.
Effect of food utilization depends to a large measure knowledge within the household of food storage processing techniques, basic principles, of nutrition, and proper childcare.
Fourthly, another concept that is increasingly becoming accepted is “Vulnerability” which is one of the major risk that can disrupt someone of the first three features. As we have noted earlier that there are four major factors or element of food security, which include Availability, Accessibility, Utilization.
Food availability is necessary but not sufficient for food and on the other hand accessibility is necessary, but not sufficient for utilization in a large sense, two broad group of factor, determines food security which include supply side factors, and demand side factor the supply factor determines food supply or it availability in order word supply factor is the determinant of the physical access to food at house hold and intra-house hold level.
The demand side, on the other hand, determines the degree of access of countries household and individuals to the availability of food. Food security at sub national level means the assured availability of food for individual household to draw on to must their minimum consumption requirement, during a given period.
According to Abdulahi[3] Food security has been defined as the ability of food deficit countries or regions, or household to meet consumption level on year to year basis.
According to Mohamed, food security has to facet (a) reduce domestic production, policy charge, and a major dislocation on food import which reduces the overall per-capita availability of food in the country even though the average income is adjust to purchase food at normal price, it availability.
Food insufficiency is the inability of poor countries, family and poor individual to purchase sufficient quantity of food from the existing supply theatre according to Abdulahi, impairing food sufficiency includes both improvement on the purchasing power of the poor and boasting the overall food production. He added that developing countries can develop a two strategy to promote food security in the long run. Effort must be made to increase the purchasing power of the poor by raising the overall level of food production in the third word, thus increased food production and purchasing power must be inexplicably linked to element of any long food security effort.
Accordingly. Abdulahi, added that the redistribution of food from developed countries of the world to the developing countries should be the best way to solve food insufficiency problem. But I disagree with this view because if that should be the case the developing countries will die at the mercy of the developed countries.
In my view if we should need any help from the developed countries of world to improve our food security it should be on the area of technology there should be a transfer of technology and trained manpower in the developing countries and adjust supply of viable species of crop seedlings, cherries such as inorganic fertilizer and other Agro-chemical to support our local farmer. Who is the major producer of food consumed in Nigeria.
1.7 Definition of Terms
Sustainable food sufficiency has been defined in various ways by different scholars. According to World Health Organization[4] defined food sufficiency as the access to food needed by all people to enable them live a healthy life at all time. A country is said to be food sufficient when there is access to food of acceptable quantity and quality consistent with decent existence at all time for the majority of the population.
This means that food must be available to the people so as to meet the basic nutritional standard needed by the body[5]. But it should be noted that availability of food does not mean accessibility to food. Availability depends on production, consumer price, information flows and the market Dynamics.
World bank defined sustainable food sufficiency as an access to enough food for an active healthy life at presents as well as ability to provide enough in future.[6]
Abudulahi, Defined sustainable food sufficiency as when people have physical and Economic Access to sufficient food to meet their dietary need for a productive healthy life at present and as well as in the future. This definition outlined some indices for measuring the extents or degree of food sufficiency to be achieved by any country and the indices are, adequate national food supply, nutritional content, accessibility, affordability, and Environmental protection. Absence of food sufficiency is food insufficiency, food insufficiency; on the other hand represents lack of access to enough food and can either be chronic or temporary.
(FAO 2010) Referred to food insufficiency as the consequence of inadequate consumption of nutritious food bearing in mind that the physiological use of food is within the domain of nutrition and health. When individual cannot provide enough food for their families it leads to hunger and poor health. Poor health reduces one ability to work and live a productive healthy life; poor human development, destabilizes a country potential for economic development for nations to come. [8] Therefore the core determinants of food security are availability, accessibility, Utilization, and stability.
Food Availability: Availability of food plays a conspicuous role in food security, having enough food in a nation is often necessary, but not adequate to ensure that people have satisfactory Access to food, over the year population has increased faster than the supply of the food thus resulting in food availability per person.
Food Accessibility: Generally the ability to have access to food, depends on the availability and quality of infrastructure needed for the production and distribution of food, lack of Economic access to food is as a result of increased poverty.
Food Utilization: This concept can be measured by two factors which reflect the impact of inadequate food intake and utilization the first outcome is measured by under five years of
[1] World Bank 2001
[2] Federal Ministry of Agriculture 2010
[3] A. Abdulahi, Food sufficiency in Nigeria How close are we? 2008 p. 4-6, a paper presented at the Federal Radio Corporation Annual Lecture Abuja
[4] WHO (1995) and FAO et al. (2013)
[5] S. Rentilimger,food and Poverty in Nigeria 1985; Finance and Development vol. 22, p. 7-22.
[6] World Bank, Poverty and Hunger, Issues, Option for food Sufficiency in Developing Countries. Washington D.C. 1986
[7] J. Adeoti, Economics Crisis in Developing Countries the Food Dimension, Illorin Journal of Business and Social Science 1989
[8] Otaha Food Insecurity in Nigeria: way forward 2013 An international multidisciplinary journals, Ethiopia vol. 7(4)