A professor of Plant Breeding and Applied Genetics at the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T) of the Obafemi Awolowo University, in Ibadan, Prof. Samuel Adelowo Olakojo, has called on the governors of the South West, Nigeria, to look into the influx of people into the region.
According to the don, the uncontrolled migration, without commensurate food production to cater for the population puts people in the zone at the risk of struggling to survive with the little that is available.
He stated this during the workshop held at the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T), Ibadan, on Thursday, October 6, 2022, under the auspice of the European Union’s Land-use change and the Resilience of Food production systems in South-West Nigeria (LucFRes).
The statement was made in reaction to the concerns raised by the keynote speaker of the event, Prof. Malachy Oghenovo Akoroda, and the convener, Prof. Lucia Ogunsumi.
The duo had earlier observed some of the challenges facing farming in the zone to include availability of land, orchestrated by encroachment on agricultural lands, as well as lack of support for smallholder farmers, while noting that migration into the region, which has been recurring, makes food insecurity almost inevitable.
According to Prof. Olakojo, “Governors of South West, especially Oyo state, should look into migration into this region, without commensurate food production. Production is little due to climate and security challenges”.
Noting various unnecessary taxation farmers face, which increase the cost of food items, he said, “The little food produced, after the climate and security challenges, in various local governments, cannot come easily into Ibadan, due to multiple taxation along the way. After paying at those areas, they are also taxed so much along the way, causing more problem to the cost of food. Don’t forget the cost of petrol and transport”.
He further advised that policymakers should listen to the proceedings of the workshop and act accordingly, as well as researchers, to secure the future from impending doom.
The main aim of the workshop is to initiate a process of progressive dialogue with stakeholders for co-designing resilient farming systems within the geopolitical zone; it was hosted by Prof. Veronica Obatolu, the executive director of the institute, who also lamented the problem of agricultural land encroachment.