A prominent farmer and former member, representing Ebonyi Central Senatorial Zone, Senator Emmanuel Onwe, has sent a letter to President Bola Tinubu, stressing that the declaration of emergency on food security and “commodification of the naira” using cassava may not be achievable.

Onwe, in an open letter to the president, a copy of which was made available to The Guardian in Enugu, said the responses from the government since the declaration was made about 10 months ago are not encouraging.

He stressed that if half of the resources and emergency deployed in politics is giving to food security, it would move Nigerians away from hunger and solve rising cost of living.

Onwe, who recalled the zeal with which Tinubu made the promise, added: “It is always reassuring to have a leader who is positively hands-on to solve problems, and in no sector is this presence of mind needed most in Nigeria today than in the area of food security and food sovereignty.”

He continued: “Mr President, if a fraction of one per cent (0.01 per cent) of the energy my fellow compatriots devote to analysing politics is devoted to producing food in our country, huge advances would already have been made. Tragically, what is important to the elite and elite-adjacency and what is important to the general working class and rural citizens in this country are galaxies apart – and it has ever been thus.

“It is true that terrorism and banditry have played a consequential role in the particular fate of famers in some regions and the general outcome for food availability in this country. However, that impediment can easily be overcome through radical measures in terms of opening up alternative areas for production of the most essential agricultural produce that would result in immediate alleviation of not just the potential, but immediate threat of starvation among our citizens.

“The government cannot be defeated by a marauding band of criminals threatening some of our farmlands. Yes, some farmlands, not all farmlands, are threatened by these criminals. Nigeria has more than 70 million hectares of arable land out of which less than 20 per cent is under cultivation of any sort.

“Further, Mr President, you ordered that agricultural essentials such as fertilisers and other inputs be released to farmers. Well, the farming season is virtually upon us. The first rains have come. The pertinent question now is: who is distributing the farm inputs, where, and who are the recipients?

“Any measure of intervention that does not bring representative farmers together – not politicised organisations populated by political farmers that cannot boast of a hectare of farm – is bound to fail. To this end, I strongly urge you, Mr President, to include genuine and experienced farmers in your National Economic Council.”

He stated that from 2015 to 2023, some organisations, in association with politicians, mopped up the inputs meant for farmers and enriched themselves at the expense of those in desperate need, adding that “presently, some politicians are still sitting on hundreds of tractors meant to go to farmers across the country. The average farmer cannot afford to pay the going rate of N200,000 to rent a tractor, N50,000 for the operator and N1,700 per litre of diesel to buy the 40-50 litres it would take for a tractor to operate on a daily basis.

“There are superstars in farming in Nigeria and in whose heads and minds exist groundbreaking initiatives on how this nation can make N2tr yearly on cassava production, processing and export. The road to ‘commodification’ of the naira based on cassava is quite simple but not easy to travel. And precisely because it is not going to be an easy route to travel, you must embark on it because the reward will be more than worth it.

“But these Nigerian super stars in farming must be encouraged, motivated, embraced by the government with sincerity and honesty of purpose. The tendency to hijack agricultural initiatives by politicians and cavemen has been strangulating previous effort by previous governments. And the citizens of this nation are paying a terrible price for it.”

“Nigeria’s myriad challenges appear incredibly daunting. The sheer magnitude of suffering in the rural communities is so staggering it beggars belief. But it is precisely because of the enormity of these challenges, Mr President that citizens such as myself have opted to devote energy, time and resources to helping this country out of this dangerous quagmire. But wolves are constantly prowling and they are dangerously experienced hunters.”

He lamented that Nigeria has 33 Strategic Food Reserve Silos across the country but has just about 60,000 metric tons of grains in reserve.

“The average per reserve site is just 2,000 tons. As an individual farmer, from 2015 to 2023, I had 2,500 tons of rice in each of those years in warehouses. Nigeria has amazing bodies of freshwater but extremely poor in infrastructure for irrigation. Nigeria has more than 70 million hectares of arable land but Nigeria is food crop poor, cash crop poor, vegetable poor. We have all these blessings and gifts from God Almighty without dodging earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, monsoons or any major natural disaster. The only disasters present in the life of Nigerians are all man-made – by Nigerian men and women.”

Onwe suggested the setting up of Food Intelligence Agency (FIA), to assist land preparation on industrial scale, single-minded investment on infrastructure for irrigation, and many more.