RICE AND FOOD SECURITY IN SHONGA EMIRATE OF EDU LGA OF KWARA STATE, NIGERIA, SINCE 1990s

Abstract

Food insecurity has become an object of debate in most academic forum, particularly the inability of the government to provide adequate funding and protection for the farmers and their farmland from herdsmen. This paper, therefore, examined the production of rice and food security in Shonga Emirate of Kwara state since 1990s. It argued that rice has always been a vital food in the lives of the people of Shonga, Kwara state and Nigeria as a whole. It employed the use of both primary and secondary sources for data collection. It explains the fact that rice consumption is increasing rapidly in the state because of the shift in consumer preference towards rice, increasing population growth, increased income levels, and rapid urbanization. Evidence revealed that Nigeria is not self-sufficient in rice production, but it has the capacity to produce the quantity it needs and even more for export, through the implementation of policies which can enhance productivity and in terms of the sale of rice either to companies for the processing of rice paddy or exportation out of the country. The research concluded that with improved rice farming system, food security, alleviation of poverty and employment of the youth would be guaranteed in the state and Nigeria at large. Again, the research recommends that, there is urgent need for the government to re-direct its agricultural policies on rice production in Shonga; and ensure the adoption of modern farming facilities and machinery in order to improve productivity of rice that would grant the local farmers the opportunity to sell to other regions both inside and outside the country.