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Cross-Currents: An International Peer-Reviewed Journal on Humanities & Social Sciences | Volume-6 | Issue-06
Global-Local Actors and the Political Economy of Food Policy in Nigeria
Oladiran Afolabi
Published: June 10, 2020 |
176
134
DOI: 10.36344/ccijhss.2019.v06i06.002
Pages: 51-57
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Abstract
Since independence in 1960, there have been several policies on food and agriculture in Nigeria. Each of
these policy decisions with other associated initiatives and programmes were aimed at achieving food self-sufficiency
and hence propel the country towards a food economy that is dependable and sustainable; which is a sine qua non for
food security. However, lots of ambiguities and grail areas are imbedded in the Nigerian Agricultural and food Policies
due to the inherent political and economic interests of the many actors involved in the policy making and implementation
processes; in practical neglect of the people‟s desires and food preferences. This paper argues that actors at both global
and local levels have had influences in the food policy making process in Nigeria with attendant unpleasant consequences
on the country‟s food security. The identified actors within the context of this paper include: The World Bank, The Food
and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, and other transnational agri-business on one hand, and the
government, political elites, and some influential farmers, on the other. The economic and political interests of these
various actors had been a major stumbling block in the accomplishment of the food security in Nigeria.