A study on food system in Nigeria has called for the establishment of a Food System Department in the Ministry of Budget and National Planning. The department will be saddled with the collating and disseminating the activities of different stakeholders in the Nigeria Food System.
A virtual Validation Workshop was organised by DIaDeRC in collaboration with Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), and AKADEMIYA2063 to disseminate research findings from the Nigeria Pilot, address questions, and discuss implementation. Held on Wednesday, September 11, 2024, with the theme ‘Food Systems Policy Coherence Diagnostic Tool: Nigeria Pilot,’ the workshop saw attendance of key stakeholders in the food systems value chain in Nigeria. The research was conducted by Prof Evans Osabuohien DIaDeRC Chair as the lead consultant, and Dr Ese Urhie (as co-researcher), a member of the ASMN community anchored by DIaDeRC.
On the excerpts of the study, Dr Urhie, said the efficiency and robustness of the nation’s food system will be dependent on having more coordination with other related agencies.
According to him, intentional communication and ensuring that all ministries and organisations in the Food System adopt the process of having a ‘Publications Menu’ on their website; where all information and publications meant for public consumption are uploaded and could be gleaned by stakeholders and the general public will be vital to the overall success of the project.
He stated that the main objective of the Nigerian pilot was to ascertain the degree of policy coherence in the Nigerian Food System using the diagnostic tools developed by AKADEMIYA2063 and Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN).
Furthermore, Dr Urhie noted that while Nigeria has a Food System Pathway document, which was presented at the United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) in 2021, it is saddening that many of the priorities are yet to be incorporated into National Plans.
Additionally, a review of Nigeria’s National development plans and policies in six selected sectors (Agriculture, Health and Nutrition, Environment, Trade, Social Protection, and Industrial, Economic Growth & Monetary) with reference to their coherence with the goals of Food Systems revealed mixed results.
Dr Urhie, who is also a senior faculty in Department of Economics, Covenant University, said for each of the Food System goals, some provisions of a given policy support their achievement, while others either serve as hinderances or were neutral. “In view of this classification, provisions of some sectoral policies were found to be totally coherent 100 percent with some Food System goals, while others were found to be grossly incoherent to be classified as zero percent,” he posited.
The report made far reaching recommendations with the aim of helping bolster on the delivery of some Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that aligns with food systems and security. For example, it recommended that policymakers and stakeholders consider instituting limits on salt content of processed foods with the intent of lessening risks of diet-related non-communicable diseases.
In addition, it recommended a reduction in tariffs on staples (such as grains, cereals, and tubers) to boost affordability in the short run. and improve food security, while promoting stability for farmers in the long run.
Additionally, it suggested payment of decent living wages in given the macroeconomic challenges in the country. Also, the study supported protectionist policies such as liberality of trade and labour unions activities.
The presentation also suggested incorporation and advancement of climate-related financial incentives or subsidies to agri-food businesses towards a holistic mitigation of climate-change induced food insecurity and also promote Nigeria’s move towards sustainability. government and policy stakeholders from a variety of sectors to consider extending.
During the interactive session, many participants raised concerns over the issue of implementation of Food System policies in the achievement of Food System goals and the issue of sentiments versus facts with respect to the responses provided, especially by respondents during the research. Another concern was the coordination of the Nigeria Food System, which is a major part of the study recommendation, as a participant noted that the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) in conjunction with United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) have developed programmes that promote food security in the past. This further brought to the fore the need for more collaboration and synergies across and among stakeholders.
To minimise trade-offs between trade policy and Food System goals, participants suggested that emphasis should be on production tariff rather than consumption tariff and government should work at addressing poor infrastructure especially transportation systems across the country to curtail food wastage.
Other factors identified as potential hinderances to the desired achievement of Food System goals, even if sectoral policies were coherent include; insecurity during planting and harvesting, need for improved infrastructure (power supply for storage facilities), market access for smallholder farmers and general agricultural value chain development, and effects of climate change on agriculture, food quality and safety standards and failure to entrenched relevance of integrated multi-sectoral policies into the Food System goals.
In his closing remarks, DIaDeRC Chair, Professor Evans Osabuohien, expressed gratitude to all participants for their active engagement and valuable contributions during the presentation. He also noted that the validation workshop on Nigeria’s food system was a significant step towards fostering an inclusive and sustainable approach to food security in the country. By bringing together diverse stakeholders, the workshop has successfully facilitated a comprehensive evaluation of the food system and paved the way for collaborative efforts towards addressing the challenges and leveraging the identified opportunities
The food systems policy coherence study is in-depth research towards understanding the alignment of policies that affect the food system, and to ensure that policies designed to improve one food system outcomes do not undermine others, while recognising interlinkages between food systems components.
Ultimately, the Nigeria Pilot Validation & Feedback Workshop was designed to share findings and recommendations towards improving food systems policy coherence in Nigeria with national policy stakeholders, seek feedback from policy actors on the tool’s findings, usefulness and relevance of in assessing food policy coherence, generate actionable recommendations, and potential improvements to make the diagnostic tool more accurate, accessible, and useful The event brought together policymakers, researchers, agricultural experts, private sector representatives, and civil society organisations, with 25 participants, cutting across different sectors of the Nigeria’s Food System.
