Dimieari Von-Kemedi, Managing Director of Arila, has addressed the complex causes of the current food crisis in Nigeria, emphasising that while insecurity is a factor, it is not the decisive reason for the soaring food inflation.
Speaking on the issue, Von-Kemedi in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Thursday, pointed to the escalating cost of production as the primary reason for the food crisis.
“Insecurity is one aspect of the food crisis, but it is not a decisive reason for the current food inflation in the country. This country has been insecure for a while now, and during this period of insecurity, we have continued to produce. The most decisive problem is the cost of production.”
He highlighted that farmers are struggling due to lack of support, compounded by the general inflation affecting the cost of food production. He also underscored that despite historical insecurity, Nigerian farmers have continued to work in their farms, driven by the need to combat hunger.
“The amount of money the farmer needs to put forward to get half a bag of fertilizer is higher than what the farmer needed a few years ago to buy an entire bag. This is the real cause of the crisis. Lack of funding is the real cause of the crisis.
“Hunger is a stronger motivation than insecurity. So, even if we are insecure, farmers will brave the insecurity to go back to the farm, but they do not have the resources to go back to the farm.”
He called for an urgent organisation of a financing framework for agricultural production, stressing that the banks, rather than the government, hold the key to resolving the funding gap.
“If this country is not doing well in agriculture, it is not because of the government but because of the banks. The banks need to step forward. They have the funds, and they need to step up.”
Addressing the government’s current plan to import food, Von-Kemedi said it is only a short-term measure and is not sustainable. He said the main solution still remains to plant food, not just in a few parts of the country, but across all the states of Nigeria.
He also highlighted the importance of the involvement of the private sector, particularly the banks, noting that since the inception of the new Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) administration, interventions in the food sector have been withdrawn.
He further criticised the undercapitalisation of the Bank of Agriculture, comparing it unfavorably to the Bank of Industry.
“Another name for the Bank of Agriculture is government. Unless the Bank of Agriculture rises in its capacity to the level of the Bank of Industry that we have today, I don’t think they will be very successful.”
Chioma Kalu
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