2010 Volume 5 Issue 1 Pages 23-30
Food insecurity affects proportionally more people in Africa than in any other region of the world. The incidence of food insecurity is greater in sub-Saharan Africa than in other regions of Africa. Nigeria is still far from achieving food security. Most food consumed in Nigeria is still produced by small-scale or household farmers who, in most cases, lack the know-how and resources to use modern techniques and procure the necessary farm inputs for maximum yields. Thus, their productivity remains very low. Nigerian universities have been actively involved in agricultural research and development and in training and extension services. The Nigerian Government has established agricultural universities whose primary objective is to tackle food security problems in Nigeria and beyond. However, the response to this challenge is constrained by inadequate research and training facilities. This paper expounds on the impacts and challenges confronting Nigerian universities in addressing food security in Nigeria in the context of the important role of university education in maintaining food security, and in the light of the changing needs of developing economies. It proposes, among other things, that increased collaboration between Nigerian universities and their counterparts in more developed countries will help Nigeria in its quest to achieve food security. A substantial percentage of foreign aid should be used to support developing sustainable agriculture through funding of agricultural research and training.
