From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos
As Nigerians joined the rest of the world to celebrate the 2013 World Environment Day yesterday, experts say more than 90 million Nigerians are under-fed and malnourished, just as Lagos state Governor, Babatunde Fashola, said that huge tonnes of food fit for consumption are wasted daily in the state.
Executive Director of Environmental Right Action/Friends of the Earth, Dr. Godwin Uyi Ojo, noted that many Nigerians die of hunger daily.
Speaking at a press conference to celebrate the event, Ojo said over 1.2 Billion people in the world go to bed hungry and about half die of starvation and malnutrition.
Uyi called on government to address the problem of food waste and deficit.
He said that, "first, there is the urgent need to fix the deplorable road network that seriously affects transportation of food from areas of surplus to areas of deficit."
He called on all tiers of government and business to invest on a post harvest food preservation enterprise as a visible way of preserving food produced in Nigeria.
He called on governments to support small scale farmers who represent about 70 per cent of the population since they have the capacity to feed our growing population and be gainfully employed and condemned the spate of land grabbing by some state governments.
Speaking at a colourful ceremony held at the Blue Roof, Ikeja, Fashola lamented that the huge quantity of food wasted daily in the country contribute significantly to current global warming.
Represented by his deputy, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, Fashola said, "the staggering amount of food wasted in the country is wholly unacceptable and a huge drain on the country's precious resources.
"With the population of the country, wasting food just makes no sense because the world is resource constrained; economically, environmentally and ethically.
"And this wastage occurs because many producers, retailers and consumers discard food that is still fit for human consumption in the country and that is why Nigerians must make informed choices in buying and consuming.
"The impact of food wasted is not just financial but also environmental. This also leads to squandering of resources such as fertilizers, pesticides and fuel used for transportation.
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