Food Security and the Challenges of Post Harvest Waste in Nigeria

Abstract

The Protest Against Soaring Food Prices And Insecurity That Swept Across Nigeria Within The First Quarter Of 2008, Prompted Evasive Answers And Reactions From The State And Its Collaborators In The Private Sector. The Nigerian State Attributed The Crises To Land Degradation, Climate Change, Drought, Floods And Desert Encroachment, And Suggested Increased Food Import As A Short Term Measure. (Yar’adua, The Nation, June 8, 2008) P.32. Others Like Obasanjo Farms Limited Attributed The Global Food Crisis To Short Falls In Production And Diversions Of Food Items For Industrial Uses (Obasanjo, The Nation October 16 2008) P,5. How Valid Are These Explanations? Using Food Crop Production And Distribution In Nigeria, This Article Lays Bare The Poverty Of These Rebuttable And Limited Presumptions On The Causes Of Food Crisis In Nigeria. The Study Posits That Waste Rather Than The Above Presumption Is The Primary Reason For Food Insecurity In Nigeria. The Study Examines The Extent Of Waste In Banana, Rice, Yam And Cassava Production And Distribution And Concluded That Waste And Food Insecurity Should Be Assigned To State Corruption, Inconsistent Agricultural Polices, Poor Service Delivery And Dysfunctional Infrastructure Such As Poor Transportation, Weak Processing, Poor Storage, Unfair Pricing And Low Application Of Science And Technology In Production And Distribution Of Food Items In Nigeria.

LWATI: A Journal of Contemporary Research, 8(3), 292-305, 2011