THISDAY, 08 JULY, 2012

14

THISDAY. THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER' JULY 8. 2012

5U !\J DAY REPORT

Th~e

Edited Olaolu Olusina Email olaoluwa.olusina@thisdaylive.com

Inuninent Food Crisis

Anxiety n ,ounts as the general insecurity in the Northern part of the country is forcing fanners 1Il the region to £lee their fauns. Olaolu Olusina examines the impact of the

insecurity on the fcxx:l. supply chall::t i!l the country ~ well as the fears being expressed in some quaJiers that a major fcxx:l. CIlSlS may be loommg his t'i no' thl D'St of time" for Je.'ili Ila5.'io1n ,nw eal name), n livestock fa, nu! -in Kaduna 51 Ite, liS the recent h)I'1bingsand general inseruri-y It the state are'l,.'\'lOg a de ... aslatin~ eff·-ctI'1 his busines~ Witli Ii bird mortality of O\I!r 70 In JU5tont.'tu~ht because of a I'l"«nt ( ..utew and restTiction on movement by thee' II tie government last week. Hassan'sl f' 'old also fan out rood asovt"r 11,01)0 .ud.!! in his farm were dyinll fast, ..ith no n.~ Ii·inc and food jupply to his farm An earlier cum w I·t.cd led his fann into Ii running battle . ~lf nne of the banks fOI his inability to P'Y I is debt as Ii result of disruptions to hIS bujJ15S. And at Ii nearby rarm in Bamawn. a rI,nner was found dead on his !:ann and ia) 'l' farmers in the area were ten with no· .:e than to run for Uw lives. With most I elS Oeeing their hums, feaTs are aheady L-er1.; !'!pressed that f1'\..1.n)' households may 'act a hard ttmc sourcing food items even 05 the annual Ramadan faslmg period apprq Khcs.

T

nul

of

N orth -as Food I~Aket There is no dour..: I 1<11 the Nurthem legion

mat.!U.JIU!

rJ. the l'IJUIlhy is 0. ol foud .;uDPl\ to Other parts d the x tinily. especia!1y• South. Acron:li"l' tQ S-'ltistics. close to 90 per cent of food -tells 1."Ol'L..umed in Lap and other South ~ 51 states come.;, from the North, Thl" 'lotI F market in lbadan Kula maricl"t In o\bo'Okuta, Ketu ~Iile 12

,he

and Oyingtxl markets in Lagos all provide sufficient evldcnCl" as dait" consignnllmts of omans. tomatoes. carrots. potatne.. yams and the like fn:In the North av.au ionK rums tn off-load In fuct. since independence. 50 percent of fooJ items to Lht> Soulll have always ame film the North while 47 percent of IM!stock consumed in the South comes fmm the North And before till;! Boko Harnm In5Ul'Jl,enc)", ()\oo!r 200 trucks 01 tomatoes, pt.'Pllt,!r mld oniOM leavr Kano and Kacluna for the Sooth evet). ,.tay.

Skpo_tIng Food Pri<a But this is no longer the ~ .IS the genera1 insecurity in the Northern part of Nigeria is a~rsely affecting farmers in the area. Fewer trucks are also coming down South because of the crisis and this is havtng effects on pOres. From lIorin to Ibadan and from Abrokuta to J...asos, the effects of the oisis in the North 15 ab'eady being felt, not onty by the consumers bUt ~ tr.td.ers as w~1I who depend on supplies hom the North fix" their business. 1lil5DAY gathered that an average-size M row that used to be Stlld for less than N1OO. 000 now costs between N150, 000 .:rnd N200, 000 in Abeokula while traders now P'lY more to farmers as the COSI of foodstuffs !tuch as film, beans, tomatoes,_ onions and other vegetables has hit the roof becaUSt! of the insecurity in the North HOO5I'\viw:s would now '-"Offiplain thai NSOO worth oC Cont'd on PJ. 15

15

THISDAY. THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER· JULY 8,2012

SUNDAY REPORT The Imminent Food Crisis (ont'd from Pg.1. pepper is no longer enough for a pot of

for sale. This development has led to heavy

Insecurity. Northern fanners are groanmg 100, as traders from the South nave not been gomg up North to buy the produce

""" _ penshable gaxk When they """ ripe for sale, there was violence and the produce got rollen."

The National Emergency Management Afpq (NEMA) ronrum.d the deveIopmen, "')'ing about 65 P'" "'" <i _ Iiumer.< had migrated to the South because of the general insecurity In the North Warning ihat Ihe counny may experience famine by the end of the ~ar as most farmers In the North were threatened by lerrorist attacks. the agency said "The attacks on these farmers who produce beans. onIOns, pepper. maIZe, ~, livestock and catfish In the Lake Otad area for consumption by the Southern states, have forced them to migrate Since the Boko Haram Insurgency broKe out 10 Borno State in july 2009. "

"'"P fa.- a family or row-. W1iile ~ loss of money. Last )'t'3r, I had substantial are afraid 10 go to the North because of land where I cultivated tomatoes,. cucumber

bnners flee for Safety lHISIl'.V gathered thai most crop farmer.; and those dealing in livestock in the North

are 6eemg tt-er land en masse and TTllgrating to neighbouring Niger Repubhc.. Clad and Cameroun as weU as 10 the Southern pam of the country because of the crisis.

Plateau Slate, which used 10 be a food basket and noted for maJOr food crops such as insh potatoes and vegetables such a,

cabbage. cucumber. lettuce. green beans, carrots, tomatoes and peas, IS now a killing field as the incessant attacks on farmers

by Itinerant herdsmen have forced many

farmers to run (or safety.

The mcessanl COSI'S between the Berom and !he Fulani cattle 1'E'are.s in Barkin Ladi.

Rlyom and J05 South havt.' great!>- affected ~bles' ruJbVation. The

situation 15 also

the ~ in Bokkos. whx:h 15 notable £or the cultivation of Irish potatoes. "The constant killings have dnven us Qut of our farms.

'He can no longer go to the mons because as you bend down to work. the next thing )'00 will """ "" gun<hots behind )'00. Qui WlWS and children have been killed on the way to £arms,." one of the farmers said.

Resbiction on Movemen.t The Groman Ladduga 10 Southern Kaduna,.who is also a lMstock fanner, Mr. Bayero Ibrahun. saJd, 'Everybody is fleeing the area. This crisis has forced some of us to nee to Niger. Chad and Cameroun. nus development has greatly dealt a devaSlal mg blow to the North." Another farmer, Mohammed Maikudi,. said movement had been htndered because of the crisis. "We are always ahaid of moving from Kaduna 10 Maldugun and Kaduna to)bla through Jos. The insecurity is hindering the movement. of people, Movemeril 15 rea1ty restncted Bec:ause of the aisis;, we are unable to move our produce to other parts of the countIy

Exploilation on Major Highways ll-llSIA<\Y also g;athered thal90me ms:hie\OJ5i penment agents are also ~ the matte!' by frustrating food supp)iers ana dea1ers on major highways as they impose one levy or the other on the few suppliers who still sunnount courage 10 go up North.

Last month, the Fedl-raloo Foodstuff Dealer.; A'ftx:iatOl c:t N' . (FF'O\N) warned that it would stop ~g food items across the counuy if the Feder:aI and state goo.oemrnents fail to intervene and stop the activities of their agents who all~ impose incessant illegal ""'" on the ""J'PO"" """ aha har.>ss them while acting as members of task. fcR'res on federal high\vays. National President of the Association. Chief Cllristian Afiaunwu, who expressed the frustration at 8 media briefing. lamented that the association had lost over 100 members to activihes of these iII~ task fortes operating mostly at nighl ~ ~ restrained ourselves from taking any action thaI WllI affect the I'TIaSISeS but we have no other opCJon !han 10 tty oot the.strilci' a1ternative. If Ihis strike is allowed., we shall cut off the flow of food items throughout Nigeria and )UU know what that will mean; it Wlliadd 10 the_ hunger and starvation which IS already bibng hard.

The attacks on these farmers who produce be~, on!ons,{.pepper, maIZe, nee, lIVesfoek and catfish in the Lake Chad area for consmnption by the Southent statest have forced them to since the Boko insurgency broke out in Bomo-Stafe in July 2009

Eirr::

"We are deall f! in III kinds of foodstuffs and farm prodLO. Y\e am en~ged in the procurement and trnnsportatlOO of these products from on. location to places where they are mostly n ~ ..od; bUt WE" have been (aong Incessant t Dtassmenl and intimidation on highw..YI fcIlowing the activities of mtsereanlS wi P Itaim tQ be agent of govemment."h~ haL'll.

"At night., thete llgents consisting of miscreants who h~ve built and constructed tents and huts 1')' the roadside, mount road blocks with anns an t rob our people and even when you nUl 10 the police nothing c.)mes out of it ~ le odded.

N otorious Ar~as Listing the ale.\!j \"heR! the actiVities of these hoodlums ; ~ "flosHy experienced to include North- ~ast. "lorth-<entraI. Taraba.

(Dnt'd on PJ,. 16

SUNDA" REPO HT

A trvdo; . . . . ~ wi. n pm hod... ~ Hiler Rapubllc

"'

The Imm .... nt Food Crlsl3

c."rdfnom .....4

N~wa.. Bel U', Kogi and Enugu state;, Afiaunwu nail h d a graphic picture of the experk'llC't of T umbers of his association In the hands )( I'lt poemment .lgenls. ~tV1:iJ,'IeS th-:-y will tell }'O.1 that the row or goat ,u W cUlying is not H for hUJl\.1l1 consumph.i'I D!\(l m \'OUr pres- llei' the-.' will slaughter 0:00 ;hre the meat .. mong them

.. r" •• ••

a.'1d ytllJ carmi I -10 anytlung."~e !;tIid as he

called fOllJrgt' 11 intefV'!ntion ill the matter.

Stakdlcld. n. Express Worry \\bnied by ho- problem at "and, former presidenti.al at p rani and professor at the Lag~ BlNnt-' is School Utomi. said

Pat ""e 80M 'un'H U71m tnsurgenC'. graphically highll~ts

'\"Crything

IS

connected to

eo.eyUling No", Food security b threatened beanJ!.e funnel 5 :annat cuJmClh! the ground due to iJlSI CUJ t} It's mther bcwming dear that we eirhel nan~c Nigen.l and rebwld her on t.~_. ftuldatlon of lustice or vel}' soon then tn4)' be no Nigeria."

FG Cou6r n i fears

The Fed:!ral (~"Cmmenl h.:lS also confirmed th" rac thaI the p1?wmg insecurity being fut!r ~ .l) the adlVlhes of the Boko Hararn 5ei I is a major threat 10 its efforts at dE\l!Ioping h _agricultural s..'Clor. Special AdvIser Ie tl-M· \.{iruster of Agriculture on Communi· ati"£1,,, Dr. Oluka)ooe O)'el~'e. who confkmed the fears. saJd in spite of the efforts to Ie\l\'e agriculture. the general insecurit) in tI e IanJ has remamed a major challenge 10 I h' sector. "Fanners will run from the lam i their Ih-es are threatened by terroris:s t u it is beyond the minisll)' 10 pRl\lde ~Wlty. It is the job of security agenae.. ramliug cannot take place whe.re there is insedlOty,-he said

TlOle1y Wtnting The Un ted Nations had two months ago rrused ~ lIarm that an estimated 18 million_ peopJ' -n the Sahe1 urgently need food rud as .J[lJUghl, poor harvests. and rising fooJ pices continue to ravage the

hnMn -kIn& an thW flInn ~on. The Sahel ~

parts of Senegal, Southl'l'll Mauritanl3,. Mali. Burkina Faso.

Southern Algeria. Niger, Northern Nlgena..

Chad.. Northern Cameroun. the Republic of Sudan. induding Darfur. Southern Sudan. and Erilrea. UN Under-Secretary-General and Emergem:)' Relief Coordma~ Valerie Amos. \vho raised the aIann to Dakar. the Senegalese capital. while on a four-day visit to ~t Africa to assess the impact of the

IOOd hwnanitarian ""'" """ "'P"icommunity """"'" bywas U'" ~ and needed to avert a looming food and.nutrition crisis in the drought-stricken region. ·Aaoss the Sahel &om Mauntania to Owl. more than 18 milUon people are affected.

The upcoming lean season will make it even

more difficuH for £amille'S to know whert" their rood is comin~ from rum the situation

Fanners will run from the £ann if their lives are threatened by terrorists but it is beyond the ministry to provide securitY: It is the job of security agenaes.

Fanning cannot take place Where there is insecurity

is expected to remam critical until the main harvest this autumn." she said.

The United States Department (or International ~t (lJSAID) aJ.o warned in its food security outlook for May that "ab£1ormaJ lncrease:s in food pri~" are anticipated between July and September

across Northern Nigeria According to the report. "Bako Haramrelated insecurity, last year's production shortfalls, ~ rosts. and an OUIOOW j of grain into NIgel;. are among the causes, the impact will be even more on pro( households stru~g to meet their daily nutritional needs.