An agricultural expert Sir Sam Korie has outlined some of the social disorders facing the various communities in Nigeria, and tasked the government to ensure that small holder farmers are supported and provided with incentives to produce enough food for the populace.
Sir Korie who was a Guest of the May edition of the Ezumezu Isinweke Virtual Summit identified food insecurity, hunger, and malnutrition, Poverty and unemployment, Poor health situations, burden of chronic disease restricted access to quality health care, lack of public transportation, poor infrastructure, low educational attainment, low health literacy, as some of the major factors.
He said that Agriculture plays a major role in tackling some of these challenges.
"Asides from the known fact that if you do not eat adequately, you will suffer serious health issues. There is an increasing rate of child malnutrition in our communities. Children are no longer able to eat food in the right quantity and quality and the effect is the onset of nutrition-related diseases stunted growth and, in severe condition, kwashiorkor, beriberi and many others. Many of us would have been taller if we ate good food as children.
"There is a correlation between malnutrition and child mental development. For children, the early formative years especially between 0 to 9 years of age are critical and if they are exposed to malnutrition, it will most likely lead to poor mental development. For a child to grow up smart, he/she needs good food.
For pregnant and nursing mothers who are malnourished, the impact is also on the children when they are born as they come out with low birth weight. A breastfeeding mother can only give quality breast milk if she eats right. Access to good food is the right of everyone" he emphasized.
The expert who is internationally renowned in Agriculture and Rural Development further revealed that the scourge of unemployment affects the youths the more, because of the neglects of the rural areas, leading to youths seeking greener pastures in major cities.
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"The young men and women in our society are between the ages 18 to 35 years. The times are hard and difficult to get decent-paying jobs for these young people, and you know the saying about 'An idle hand is the devil’s workshop’.
"When young people are unable to get employed or decent wages, they either do any of these two things which are - to engage in criminal activities, or to migrate to bigger cities in search of opportunities that are difficult to come in this era. Our youths do not want to stay in the rural communities any longer as it does not appeal to their social needs. Why can’t agriculture be the solution to this problem of unemployment as it has been in many advanced countries?
If you take a census of the farmers in our communities, you will discover that over 70 percent of them are above 60 years of age. Our farmers are old and are less vibrant now compared to their youthful days especially with their reliance on crude tools and practices. Why are our young people no longer interested in agriculture?
When you ask a young man or woman to ascribe a word or phrase to agriculture, you will hear – stressful, drudgery, unattractive, dirty, time-wasting, poverty and many other negativities. In many modern societies today, they have or are changing the narrative to the opposite of these words. They have introduced what they call the value chain concept where agriculture does not stop on the farm alone, rather they have created opportunities in storage, processing, packaging, branding, marketing and distribution, and ultimately, the consumers' consumption on the table".
He challenged the government at various levels to ensure that the communities are as favourable and habitable compared to the outside urban communities by providing basic amenities such as water, electricity, basic and modern health care facilities, good housing, schools and even security. "If our villages have all these things, why would anyone want to leave to places like Lagos only to end up selling recharge cards" he concluded.
Ezumezu Isinweke is the Apex sociocultural association of Ihitte/Uboma people in Imo State.
