Former Senator Emmanuel Onwe, who represented Ebonyi Central Senatorial Zone, has called for the establishment of a Food Intelligence Agency (FIA) to support the Federal Government’s recent declaration of emergency in food production and security.
Onwe made this call during a press briefing in Enugu, discussing his Open Letter to President Bola Tinubu titled, “Declaration of a State of Emergency on Food Security and ‘Commodification of the Naira Using Cassava’: What Can I Do for my Country”.
Onwe stated the urgency of a coordinated approach to combat food inflation, hunger, and potential population starvation, highlighting the critical role an FIA could play.
“A Food Intelligence Agency – the strike squad of food security and food sovereignty – would have played a significant and defining role in investigating, assessing, and recording the state of food production, consumption, and preservation across Nigeria,” he stated.
He pointed out that such an agency would provide actionable intelligence on food production threats and prospects, allowing for proactive measures to prevent food shortages. Onwe criticized the current intermittent emergency responses to food crises as embarrassing on both national and international levels.
A farmer himself, with over 300 hectares of cassava farm, Onwe argued that if the resources devoted to politics were redirected to food production, Nigeria could diversify its economy beyond crude oil.
“Nigeria is now steeped in a culture where politics and politicking suck in every ounce of the national energy. Politics grabs the nation by the jugular and freezes the very lifeblood coursing through the national veins,” he remarked.
Onwe also addressed the issue of insecurity being cited as a reason for farmers avoiding their fields. He acknowledged the impact of terrorism and banditry but argued that these challenges could be mitigated through alternative agricultural measures.
“The impediment can easily be overcome through radical measures in terms of opening up alternative areas for the production of essential agricultural produce,” he said.
In July 2023, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency on food security, incorporating food and water availability and affordability into the National Security Council’s responsibilities.
