Outgoing NIFOR director highlights acute hunger crisis in Africa

After serving a five-year tenure as the Executive Director of the Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR), Celestine Ikuenobe bid farewell. In his valedictory lecture, he addressed the dire food security situation in Africa, emphasizing that over 140 million people on the continent are grappling with acute hunger, with one in every five Africans going to bed hungry.

Mr. Ikuenobe’s lecture, titled “Riding the Crest in Time, Tide, and Stage,” shed light on the 2022 Global Hunger Index, revealing that many African countries are suffering from severe to alarming levels of hunger.

He pointed out that, on average, farmers in sub-Saharan Africa employ inefficient farming methods, making it challenging for them to produce sufficient food and earn decent incomes. These farmers face obstacles such as the use of poor-quality seeds, fragile soils, limited access to agricultural inputs, all of which hinder their ability to meet the food demands of a growing population.

Mr. Ikuenobe further highlighted that Nigeria’s hunger index has been on a downward trajectory since the beginning of the millennium. He attributed the food insecurity in the country to poorly resourced research, unstable funding, insufficient infrastructure, and inadequate human resource capacity.

He stressed the need to reinvigorate and fortify the nation’s research system to deliver innovations and knowledge that could contribute to a more vibrant agricultural sector.

Despite agriculture’s underperformance in Nigeria over the years, the sector has benefited from research and innovations facilitated by the national agricultural research system. These achievements encompass improved crop varieties, animal breeds, and enhanced production and processing methods.

During his farewell speech, the outgoing Executive Director expressed gratitude to NIFOR staff for their unwavering support, genuine love, and selfless dedication throughout his tenure.

Governor Godwin Obaseki, represented by the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Stephen Idehenre, commended Mr. Ikuenobe for his dedication to advancing the oil palm sector in the state. The governor acknowledged that NIFOR’s guidance had played a pivotal role in establishing the State Oil Palm Programme, which has allocated approximately 62,000 hectares of land to investors for oil palm plantations in the state.