I have a question. We grow apples, grapes and many temperate region fruits and vegetables in Jos. So why are we still importing apples? Who says that Nigeria cannot eat and export apples from Jos especially with our cargo terminal at the Airport? Why are we still importing apples? It is because the average Nigerian believes that it cannot be good enough if it is locally grown or made. If we wish to achieve food security, this mindset must begin to change with the speed of lightening. Eating our locally produced apples can only have advantages and boost out food security.
What happens when we eat our locally grown exotic food? When the farmer can sell his local apples, he earns revenue that enables him to improve on his agricultural practices and expand his farm, thereby increasing his yield. This is good for food security. However, when we import apples, we empower farmer in Europe and South Africa, and we lose foreign exchange. And create jobs for their youths.
So, what is the issue? Why can we not eat only our locally grown apples and grapes and stop importing, as a way of encouraging others to go into this form of farming and getting investors to invest their money here? If you ask me, I will tell you that there is absolutely no reason. First and foremost, if Nigerians do not like apples from Jos, we should look at the local species of the grapes and apples we have. If these do not compete favourably with the imported species, we can get our agricultural institutes to bring in more favourable species and teach our local farmers how to grow top of the range apples and grapes in commercial quantity, enough to feed the Nigerian population and for exportation.
Furthermore, we can ban or increase the import tarrif of grapes and apples as a way of giving our local apples and grapes an opportunity to flourish commercially and play a part in our food security. However, before we get to that, we must first market the apples and grapes grown in Jos because this is not common knowledge to every Nigerian. We can have a Jos food fair, where we can showcase the potentials of growing temperate region fruits on the Plateau. Jos and Mambilla Plateaus can actually collaborate to do this. It can be a Jos and Mambilla Plateaus food fair.This will be a good way to raise awareness and draw in investors especially considering the fact that apples and grapes are just two out of many vegetables that are imported into Nigeria. Next to security, there is no surer way of ensuring food security than to have investments in these areas to such an extent that yield and production is higher than demand for the produce. We can invest in organic farming of apples and grapes too. This is very much in demand especially for health conscious people who do not like fertilizers and genetically modified foods.
Having said the forgoing, the Nigerian needs to change his or her thinking concerning temperate fruits that are grown in Nigeria. I went to buy frozen vegetables in a superstore one day and I saw packs of frozen wild berries from Jos. I could not hide my joy. I told everyone there, that this was from Jos, proudly of course.
The packaging could compete very well with the packing from Europe and I asked myself why we cannot also have frozen vegetables from Jos. I said to myself, maybe we have it and I am just yet to find a pack of it in the superstores. Why should we import frozen carrots and peas when we can easily process and freeze our carrots and peas here in Jos and store them as our food security strategy? Who says that we cannot do this in commercial quantity enough to supply the entire nation? Why are we creating greater opportunity for jobs and food security for other countries by buying their frozen peas and carrots, their apples, celery etc when entire landscape of the upper Plateau can supply the entire country with these produces? what can we grow on the mambilla Plateau? How can these two Plateaus collaborate to push the imported vegetables off the shelves in our superstore and the imported apples off the shelves and off our street?
Getting down to brass tags, the Nigerian mind set loves exotica. Anything imported is tied to class. It therefore means that if you are eating a locally grown apple and I am eating an imported apple, I have more class and or money than you do. This is not necessarily true. Nigerians must learn to eat Nigerian apples and grapes just the way we have learnt to eat local rice. Similarly, farming is largely looked upon as a calling for the poor and the villagers. Who says that families, including rich ones, cannot grow their own vegetables and legumes in their own backyard as a way of ensuring food security? A little drop here and there and we can achieve the food security that we need. Back yard farming or vegetable gardening not only saves money but supplies fresh nutrients. It also boosts our food security.
On a lighter note, still on the Nigerian mindset, I heard a radio personality about a month ago saying that Nigerians now import a certain brand of pizza from abroad. It is flown in ona certain British flight and arrives in Nigeria in the mornings. I shook my head. All the ingredients in these pizzas are grown abroad and produced abroad. The Beef special for this brand does not make use of our local beef, tomatoes or chilli. Can we not work on improving the quality of our local pizza and eat pizza here in Nigeria? Apart from the lose of foreign exchange, we are creating more market and more yield for the European tomato and beef farmers and we are also creating more jobs in their pizza outlet.
We all know how Nigerians loooove to show off with everything! I hope that this is actually just a brief craze for those who can afford to buy exotic pizza. I am worried because if I know my country very well, very soon, this pizza will become a status symbol. There will be imported pizza at wedding ceremonies, naming ceremonies, birthday parties, political rallies, executive meetings etc. You name it. If you do not order this exotic pizza, you have not arrived and you are not class. Period. So if this catches on, our local wheat,tomatoes, chilli etc market may begin to receive less patronage as far as pizza production is concerned. Yet again, little drops make an ocean.
I know that Nigerians also export Nigerian soups to Europe, but this is different. There is no bitter leaf in Europe, there is no locust beans there, there is no bush meat there, there is no banga there. There is a clear market for Nigerian soups in Europe. On the other hand, we have wheat, tomatoes, chilli, garlic, onions, spices. We need to encourage our local farmers more and better for food security by eating our local apples, grapes and pizzas.
A happy Sunday to you and yours
