Source: www.thecitypictures.net

“A nation that cannot feed itself will always remain subservient to others” Beautiful Nubia

Food, glorious food!

Our bodies need food to function at an optimum level, yet in Nigeria 35 million people are facing threats of hunger.

Nigeria is a ‘food-deficit’ nation that depends on imports of grains, livestock products and fish. Of an estimated 71 million hectares of cultivable land, only half is currently being used for farming.

This information may seem overly dramatic, but the reality is dire. Especially with the drop in oil prices we need to act now to diversify our economy, encourage agricultural production, and improve our infrastructure.

The main issues within the Nigerian agricultural system are climate change, isolation of farmers from profitable markets, high cost of production, lack of adequate information, lack of able bodies and minds within the industry, policy inconsistencies, loss of soil fertility, desertification, drought, lack of innovation, and gender inequality.  It is not too late to turn these around. The environmentalist, economist and scientists implore us to start now.

Alongside the efforts of government, citizens need to propose practical solutions to our food insecurity that can be delivered entrepreneurially.

We need solutions that will; help farmers get access to farm inputs efficiently; support the processing of farm produce to prevent waste; facilitate the efficient transportation of farm produce to the consumers; distribute new knowledge and ideas to farmers to improve their yields; and enable new markets for Nigerian farm produce.

By thinking of ideas within these and more we can start to see a change in the way farming is conducted, the way food is produced, what products we buy and eat and the economy.

CcHub is willing to support innovative yet practical ideas in these regards to be implemented. We will support the best ideas by giving access to up to $25,000 in investment as well as networks and market entry support to get kick-started.

Source: www.developmentdiaries.com

So What Next? Apply!

If you have an idea, small or big, to transform agriculture in Nigeria tell us about it at www.socialchangelab.org.

The deadline for the first cycle ends on Sunday 14, December 2014.

Don’t wait till it is too late; your idea could be critical to help feed Nigerians now and into the future.