WHERE IS MY ‘FOOD’ GOING?
By: Dada 'Foluso
Tags: Food, Nigeria, Covid 19 Crisis, Personal Fina, Income Generation

To be honest, 2020 has been quite an interesting year. While we were plunged into the changes that COVID-19 brought at the beginning of the year, a local man did not fully understand nor anticipate the economic impacts it was going to pose later in the year … and maybe well into 2021.

Granted, work life changed, technology penetration increased at an unprecedented rate, the healthcare system stepped up really good, some businesses dwindled while a lot more became nimble, adapted and continued to flourish differently, but we may not have really looked into the ramifications of the economics, food supply and its changing dynamics.

Let’s not deal with government activities in this issue and just proceed to say that Nigeria needs visionaries to step up to leadership lest we keep on surviving on ‘vibes and kashamadupe’.

The Nigerian Bureau of statistic reported that Nigeria’s economy declined by a whopping -6.1% GDP in Q2 (2020), and by another -3.62% by the end of Q3 of same year officially setting her into economic recession. In simple terms, our productivity as a people over the last 6 months have been declining- ironically, this is the good news.

The not-so-good end of the matter, is that our population growth is estimated at 2.5% implying that while productivity was dwindling (dropping salaries and increasing unemployment), we were actively becoming fruitful and multiplying — obedient children of Adam and Eve. With fuel & electricity prices increasing, the supply shortage of farm products due to non-production in the 2020 planting season (no thanks to COVID-19 lockdowns), border closures that let food out (into Niger and beyond) but not into the country, the need for farmers to get security clearance before going to work, the up-north flooding, the USD continuously “silently” gaining on the naira because the government will not admit to devaluing the currency, we are in a “No Balance” situation.

Owing to said situation, local man may have been feeling some tightness with cash and the prices and availability of food items, especially with Christmas coming, but jingle bells have not been ringing. An economist will say inflation rates — and they are at a 34-month high, with inflation rate reported at 14.89% while food inflation is at 18.3%, in November, few weeks to our rice and chicken festival of Christmas.

SO WHAT WILL LOCAL MAN DO?

Photo by Nikita Kachanovsky on Unsplash

First, man must become more international — either by passport or by skill. It is a good time to keep your passports current. On the upside, the technology penetration that COVID-19 gave afforded us a means of learning global skills.

This is the time to find how best to make your skills fluid. You must also develop a wide variety of practical skills and talents. As currency becomes more ‘useless’, being equipped to trade by a barter system becomes more important.

Local man must also learn with great caution to trade (or invest) in commodities, real assets and ventures that are at least at par with headline inflation. It is not in the best interest of the country for people to convert their resources into foreign currency — this will only increase the hyperinflation problem eventually, but if your skills fetch foreign currency, you have contributed to getting us out of recession due to your productivity (O compatriot! We hail thee!).

Food inflation is highest and most pinching, so it may be wise to call your grandmother (or your mother) in the village now. A large part of the difference between headline inflation and the food inflation is due to inefficient distribution systems. Buying your staples (yam, rice, beans, potatoes etc) in batches can help you save up to 15–25% of your income. You can then purchase your perishables (fish, meat, pepper, tomatoes, onions etc) as needed. Saving up by refrigeration consumes power and PHCN is not reli…. (…and they just did it again).

In conclusion, acknowledging the times we are in now, and adapting for such may be the nimble skill we require to individually and collectively improve our productivity — eventually, the government of the ‘productive’ by the political class, for the people may be a good way to start rebuilding our Nigeria.