Food Security: CSOs tasks FG, States, LGs on implementation of Food Acts

By Abubakar Yunusa, Abuja

The Civil Society organizations (CSOs), Voice For Food security (VFS), Farm and Infrastructure Foundation (FIF) in partnership with Oxfam in Nigeria have urged the Federal government, State government and Local government to implement the right to new food acts in Nigeria.

Addressing journalists yesterday in Abuja, the FIF President, Gbolagade Ayoola said the right to food is constitutional rights in Nigeria, and that subject to judicial determination, the right to food and taken together with other laws of the land is actionable.

Citing the utility of act drives from the act in the constitution of the federal Republic of Nigeria 1999(the ‘principal act”)as altered, it said that production, conservation and distribution of food are upgraded and improved upon on a continuous basis.

“” The State should direct its policy towards ensuring that strategies that guarantee good security of the nation regarding availability, accessibility and affordability of food to the citizens are initiated, undertaken and implemented.

“Adequate measures should be provided to ensure that food security of the nation is not compromised by any individual, group or institution and the state shall promote and sustain activities that enhance food security”,he said .

Furthermore, he said the right to food in Nigeria will operate in tandem and nexus with similar provisions for the same in pre-existing international conventions, treaties and other legal instruments to which Nigeria is signatory to.

” The government at the national, state and local level gave the act up teeth to bite, by implementing it faithfully and responsibly and also left for the people themselves to take full advantage of the act to participate more proactively in the food policy process affecting their lives.

“While the Non-state actor and Development partners offer their usual assistance to government and civil society towards the successful implementation of the seminal right to food legislation act in Nigeria”.

He, however commended Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMRD), the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and some states house of assemblies who were instrumental to sponsoring the bills .