Food Security: Government Is Not The Only Reason We Are Hungry And Poor —By Chima Christian

With 84 million hectares of arable land, Nigeria should have no business with poverty, food scarcity and unemployment – especially the youth component of unemployment.

When I discuss this with people, the default reaction is to blame the government. I agree that the government has some form of responsibility. I also agree that this responsibility could be discharged with a lot more thoughtfulness. But I always wonder, is government the only reason behind our inability to grow our own food?

All our favourite governance failures can be unpacked with ease. But let’s dismantle the excuse of insecurity. Even if the land in our villages is adjudged inscecure – which is not completely true. What of the lands in our urban centres? What of our backyards and balconies?

For example, every urban centre in Nigeria has a sizeable chunk of underdeveloped land. If you live in the urban centre, and you’re reading this, I challenge you to reach out to the owner of that undeveloped property near you. Lease it for a few months or years, and see what can be accomplished. Using vertical and more advanced farming systems, which anyone can freely and easily learn, we could grow more in a little space.

And this is not theory. By just tweaking crop selection and management system, we are demonstrating through one of Teva Foods operations that we can grow more food in six plots of land than people can traditionally grow in 2 hectares.

While we work hard to give Nigeria and the rest of Africa more purposeful governments, we must individually and collectively have the resilience to solve societal problems, inspite of bad governance.

In reality, the inability of the government to solve a problem as important as food, has created a massive space for private sector players to jump in. For those talking about good governance in a democratic setting, until we give people the food to eat, expecting them to always vote right and to demand for good governance may remain a pipe dream. And the private sector can solve this hunger problem better and quicker than any government.

Some of us can really get our hands on the plough, grow healthy food, and create employment for God’s people. And guess what? Both God and the society will find a way to reward us for solving this problem. I challenge you to quit blaming the government and do something today, no matter how small. Even if you can’t do something because you’re so busy, find people who are doing something and support them to scale it.

We can make progress. Or we can make excuses. I’ve learnt very early on that we can’t make both.

Play your part, Africa’s morning is at hand.

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Chima Christian is the Co-founder and CEO of Teva Foods – a social enterprise dedicated to organic food production and processing, climate-smart farming, and systemic solutions to unemployment and food insecurity.

With multiple projects across the continent, Teva Foods’ vision is to pioneer an agricultural revolution in Africa by championing ethical, innovative and sustainable food production and agro-enterprises.

Teva Foods has set out to feed the continent with wholesome meals, create employment, train the next generation of young/smart farmers. Teva cluster farming investment programmes have been hailed as high-impact opportunity to generate measurable returns while supporting innovative agricultural practices and creating tangible value for underserved communities.