A university lecturer, Professor Denis Balogun, has disclosed that Nigeria spends N2.8 billion daily to import processed foods which he noted portends danger to food security in the country.
Balogun, a Professor of Agriculture/Nutrition and Physiology, lamented the massive importation of processed foods into the country.
“To this end, Nigeria may find it difficult to feed its citizen especially with its fast growing population, growing at over 3 per cent rate per annum in 2050 with the crude farming methods employed by farmers whose farm products are left to decay on roadside for lack of preservation,” he stated.
Balogun, who also the Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida University (IBBU) Lapai, Niger State, disclosed this over the weekend during an inaugural lecture titled “Appropriate Technologies: Food Processing and Preservation as Key to Food Security in Nigeria – Opportunity for Technology Transfer.”
He said the preference of Nigerians for imported foods is very alarming and needs to be limited as this development has left many Nigerian youths unemployed while it has been paying for the employment of foreigners working in the those food industries.
“Nigeria can still make amends and reverse this situation by developing or adopting appropriate food processing technologies. Such changes will provide reputable employment in the food industry for the youths and improve the economic base of our farmers,” he said.
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