Foro Global sobre Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutrición (Foro FSN)

ADDRESSING FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION IN THE CONTEXT OF CHANGING RURAL - URBAN DYNAMICS EXPERIENCES AND EFFECTIVE POLICY APPROACHES.

The truth is that , there are large number of unemployed graduate in my country Nigeria, not only young people, it has been extended to women also,  lot of people are migrating from rural areas to urban areas.  These facts has contributed to the reduction / lack of food and agricultural products in the rural - urban areas.

  • There is need to go back to the basis : This can be achieved by starting an awareness from urban centre, register unemployed graduate for three days programme in which the training will be based on orientation, implementation of how to become a successful farmer.  Well packaged educative programme in all what it takes,  the commitment and technological how to become a "successful farmer". The profit margin for the next three years also have to be well explain and the uses of  modern technology equipment e.g tractors,  fertiliser e.t.c will be overemphasised. 
  • A lot of young people will definitely registered,  test will be carried out based on the lectures delivered to them,  but only successful candidate will go to the next level.
  • It has to be spelt out that whatever money spent initially from the onset of the project,  ranging from leasing of the land to harvesting period shall be paid back.
  • They shall also be introduced to cooperative society within the farmers associations that will give them a lot of benefits to become a standard international farmer.

The next step will be setting up a semi scale processing units for some products: training will be undertaken to enable individual farmers know the procedure for production,  so as to have ability to preserve the agricultural products.

  1. Yam to yam flour for amala and pounded yam flour as well.
  2. Cassava to gaari, cassava flour.
  3. Rice to rice flour.
  4. Pepper  to dried ground chill pepper.
  5. Ginger  to dried ground ginger.
  6. Garlic to dried ground garlic.
  7. Melon .....
  8. e.t.c.

Another level is the introduction of additives, vitamins, supplements for replacement of loss nutrients during production process.

Packaging systems also have to be introduced .....

Another,  step is the introduction of course to learn, labelling ,  nutritional facts, for required standard , for exportation.

All these methods can also be used for rural women.

After many years of the cooperative has been in existence,  the group can come together to buy tractor,  equipment and ice friends system to make exportation of freshly plucked agricultural products possible and long preservation of the fresh products from farm. This ice friend system with the use of generating set and attached to a truck for easy movement.