{"id":34657,"date":"2023-11-02t18:12:30","date_gmt":"2023-11-02t18:12:30","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/?p=34657"},"modified":"2024-03-01t16:48:54","modified_gmt":"2024-03-01t16:48:54","slug":"deforestation-food-security-nigeria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/deforestation-food-security-nigeria\/","title":{"rendered":"where did all the fruit trees go? fighting food insecurity and deforestation in nigeria"},"content":{"rendered":"
going to school as a child used to be fun. aside from the expected interesting knowledge imparted by the school teachers, there were other aspects attached to the daily school routine which were once so amusing. among these were the abundant free foods on the streets that led to my school. there used to be different kinds of fruit-bearing trees pounced on by the students, especially when returning home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
my father\u2019s neighbor, mr. ige took it to another level \u2014 he specially created a garden with indigenous fruits and vegetables such as spondias mombin (iyeye), african star apple (agbalumo), irvingia gabonensis (oro) in his yard. despite struggling financially himself, he had done so much to reduce hunger in the town to a bare minimum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
however, strolling around the same streets today, one can hardly find a single tree planted as they have been uprooted for the construction of more buildings for businesses and supposedly developmental projects. today, deforestation is one of the major drivers of climate change<\/a>, and in my hometown in nigeria, it contributes to ravaging food scarcity as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n according to the un world food programme<\/a>, over 25 million nigerians face acute hunger. this calls for urgent concern as it aligns with the predictions of other global bodies<\/a>, which further elucidate the effects of climate change on food security in nigeria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n more so, the 2022 global hunger index<\/a> affirms that nigeria ranks 103rd out of the 121 countries with sufficient data to calculate 2022 ghi scores. with a score of 27.3, nigeria has a level of hunger that is serious. this suggests that 12.9 percent<\/a> of the global population in extreme poverty was found in nigeria as of 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n yusuf hameed, a farmer in southwestern nigeria, lamented on the increasing rate of deforestation in his community, claiming that the songs of birds fade each day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cdeforestation has been a concern over the years. on a daily basis, i notice a diminution of the level of the songs made by the birds, as there are very few trees around,\u201d hameed said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n the disappearance of local birds is more than just a bad omen. with fewer trees surrounding his farm, hameed attributes a growing number of poultry deaths to the lack of shade. \u201cthis has affected my poultry farm considering the intense amount of unbearable heat that penetrates into the poultry during the day, leading to fatality of the birds,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n this issue is coupled with the growing problem of climate change, which is a significant factor in nigeria\u2019s decreasing agricultural productivity, according to the fao<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cclimate change poses a significant impact on farm produce, primarily through changes in temperature, precipitation patterns, and extreme weather events. higher temperatures mean quicker rate of spoilage and deterioration of perishable produce after harvest,\u201d said babajide oluwase, ceo of ecotutu, a cleantech company that strives to make cooling more affordable and accessible for businesses, especially in the agriculture sector. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c[increased heat] leads to post-harvest losses, affecting the quantity and quality of farm produce available to feed the teeming population,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n farmers on the ground-level are also employing solutions to drier conditions. stella arowolo, who also goes by \u00c0gb\u00e9b\u00ecnrin, is a farmer and young leader in abeokuta, a city in southwestern part of nigeria who uses a method known as soilless farming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cso in respect to my kind of farming, which is soilless farming, the whole system mitigates climate change because it is a refined, profitable and sustainable way to produce food in order to end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition and ensure sustainable food systems,\u201d said arowolo.<\/p>\n\n\n\nfewer trees, more challenges<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
fighting the link between deforestation, climate change and food insecurity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n