This maize scarcity matter got me thinking about agriculture and the issues around Nigeria's food security all over again.
My father is a professor of Agricultural Economics and Extension and I have worked for him on many study/project since I was 15.
A THREAD...
1/

Nigeria's issue with food scarcity has never been about PRODUCTION. We produce way more than we could ever consume. In fact we lose as much as half our produce every single year.

So if production isn't the issue what is? I'm glad you asked...
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Its 3 things:
1. Access to market
2. Storage
3. Processing

1.The pain local farmers face in bringing produce from local fields to markets is heartbreaking. The cost of hiring vehicles, deplorable roads, corrupt police make the conveying of agric produce herculean and cost...
3/

...inefficient. As their hardships and costs of getting produce to market rises, so does the cost to consumers.
2. Now the real issues start. Storing the vast produce is added cost to farmers - and is even a luxury in short supply. This is where the waste really starts.
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Garri, veggies, fruits etc all exposed to the elements, purifying by the day. Farmers are now in a race against time, as they soon have to choose between losing 100% of their produce or selling at marginal gains - or at outright loss. I have seen women in tears as they...
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...sold a 50kg bag of garri at N50. I kid you not. From Sokoto to Sapele, Jebba to Jalingo farmers are losing entire harvests because storage does not exist.
3.Processing would've solved this AND increased value of our national produce, but we have refused to invest in the...
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...technology and infrastructure to make this happen. Storage and processing are the main reasons we eat certain products only at certain times of the year. This should not be so in 2020. The global market for cocoa is $67bn and Nigeria contributed about 7% of that...
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...but the global CHOCOLATE imarket is over $160bn! Unfortunately we are only interested in farming cocoa and not in making chocolate. And its the same for EVERY SINGLE agric product.

The above are the real problems that cause the hardship we face in Nigeria when it comes...
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...to food scarcity and food insecurity. These are the areas the FG needs to ramp up interventions if they are serious about effecting change and securing the best route to the future.
Extension workers, farm cooperatives, rural electrification, infrastructure and security...
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...are needed in a holistic thrust to secure the bag for citizens and nation alike.

I won't off my mic.

End.