Nigeria - Fase 2
Main findings
• The exploratory dialogue brought to the fore the enormous challenges facing Food systems in the zone and government hopes to integrating some of the recommendation into state development plans going forward. • Nutrition education and awareness need to be intensified at all levels. People eat what is available and what they can afford and do not bother to eat the right type of food. There is general lack of awareness of the importance of healthy living. The general notion that eating well is dependent on ones purchasing power should be addressed. Promoting good food preparation methods th
... Leer másat will improve quality of food and encourage consumption of healthy, hygienic, wholesome and nutritious food is an issue that needs to be addressed. Government, food handlers, farmers and actors along the food value chain have a lot to do in this regard. • Creation of awareness on the dangers to health of the consumption of contaminated food either through addition of harmful chemicals, poor processing methods, and other unhygienic and unwholesome practices. • The issue of food wastage in the zone requires immediate attention. Government in collaboration with stakeholders need to support the adoption of appropriate technologies in the harvesting, processing and preservation of food. Supporting small holder farmers to acquire cost effective on farm food storage technologies e.g fish smoking kiln. • The zone will urgently need to address the challenges of farm security, situations that women farmers are raped, killed or kidnapped in the farm has instilled so much fear in the people. Women farmers arrange and paid Vigilante group to provide security while at the farm.ng to the cost of production. • The zone is blessed with arable fertile land with teeming youthfully unemployed population. Engaging these youths into agriculture will increase food production and reduce a lot of vices. • Modernization of agricultural practices in the zone will lead to increased food production. Presently, there is adequate production of basic staples like yam, cassava however, there is need for farmers to be more innovative and adopt new technology around nutrition SMART agricultural practices. Training and retraining of agricultural extension workers to enable them provide innovative extension services to farmers will lead to better yield of farm produce. (b) Actions that Stakeholders will take together 1. Investment in agriculture. Pulling funds together by stakeholders will help provide funds needed by the sector. 2. The issue of insecurity in the area was seen as everybody’s business. Communities should help in securing their areas and providing useful information to security agencies of government. 3. Government and the various stakeholder associations as well as individual food handlers have a role to play in putting an end to the use of harmful chemicals, additives, etc in foods to enhance colour or increase volume. 4. Proper disposal of waste from food is the responsibility of all stakeholders. Most of this waste occur as a result of the perishability of agricultural product. Non availability of off takers, lack of storage facilities, poor food handling results in a lot of waste being generated which are not properly disposed resulting in infection and pollution of the environment. To achieve the necessary transformation of the Food Systems in the South south region, stakeholders at the meeting made the following strategic and immediate transition recommendations - Provision of infrastructure in the rural areas e.g good roads, electricity and boreholes. - Government to see farming as a social investment and improve funding of the agricultural sector. - Increase investment in agricultural research and dissemination of findings. - Capacity building of extension officer to strengthen extension services and all actors along the food chain. - Improve investment in preservation and storage technology. - Public enlightenment and nutrition education of actors along the food chain including women of reproductive age and lactating mothers. This will also minimize some harmful practices identified by the participants. - Increase state allocation to the agricultural sector. - Government to create enabling environment to attract private investors into agricultural sector. Improve access to high quality production inputs – water, improved seedling and fertilizer etc. - Sensitization of the public and regulating activities to promote food safety - Improve security of farm lands so that women and others can go to their farms. - Encourage mechanized farming e.g use of tractors. - Creation of new farm settlements and strengthening of old settlements by providing basic amenities and agro-facilities. Leer menos
Línea(s) de Acción: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Palabras clave: Data & Evidence, Environment and Climate, Finance, Governance, Human rights, Innovation, Policy, Trade-offs, Women & Youth Empowerment