By Samuel
Following projections of acute food scarcity this year, the Olubadan Of Ibadan, Oba Saliu Adetunji, has urged the Federal and State governments to leverage the benefits inherent in the adoption of irrigation farming systems.
Several bodies have projected acute food insecurity issues for Nigeria this year, the most recent being that of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
The international agency had estimated no less than 800,000 children to be affected by acute malnutrition, owing to several factors including food insufficiency.
Similarly, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) had jointly warned of an impending food crisis in Nigeria and some African countries, last November.
“These countries already had significant acute food insecurity levels in 2020…and are now facing a risk of a further rapid deterioration over the next months”, they warned.
The monarch who was represented by Chief Shina-Olatunji Aresa, made the call at a chieftaincy installation ceremony in Ibadan, recently.
According to him, adoption of this system will mitigate the effects of bad weather on farming activities.
He asserted that the adoption of a new farming system has become imperative, as the system in use has not proven to be a sustainable model.
“For Nigeria to avert food shortage in the new year, efforts should be directed toward irrigation farming.
“This will mitigate the effects of bad weather on planting while farmers should also be protected from criminals that attack and destroy their farms.
“We should see that the time has come for us to realize that the way we practise farming here in the Southwest Sone cannot sustain us.
“The food shortage projection is predicated on so many reasons ranging from bad weather, insecurity and largely the poor funding from the government”, he asserted.