Ex-Gov, now Sen Orji sponsors Bill on Freedom from hunger for Nigerians

A bill which seeks for freedom from hunger, right to adequate food of acceptable quality and the right of every child to basic nutrition, was on Tuesday considered by the Nigerian Senate.

The bill also seeks to establish an Agency on food security, as well as stipulates provisions for Chairmanship, membership of the board, tenure of office, amongst others.

The bill was considered by the lawmakers after Senator Theodore Orji (Abia Central), who sponsored it presented its lead debate.

Consequently, the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan referred it to the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development led by Senator Adamu Abdullahi.

The Senate gave the committee four weeks to report back.

In his lead debate on the bill entitled, “A Bill for an to make provisions for freedom from hunger and the right to adequate Food of acceptable quality, the right of every Child to Basic Nutritionand for connected purposes, 2019(SB.11)”, Orji said that should the bill succeed at the Senate and eventually assented by the president, it would address issues of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in Nigeria.

“It is important to point out that Food Security means far more than having sufficient food to meet human needs on a national basis. Other very important factors include access to safe drinking water, primary health care and environmental hygiene,” Orji said.

The lawmaker said after the World Food Crisis in 2008, that many developing countries have been enacting laws targeted at food security.

He mentioned Mauritius as an example, saying that the country enacted a Food Security Fund to enhance local production of food by tackling all the problems militating against it.

He added that the bill, among other things, seeks to “provide a framework that promotes the elimination and prevention of discrimination of marginalized groups in the access and distribution of food.”

The bill also seeks to establish an Agency as well as stipulates provisions for Chairmanship, membership of the board, tenure of office, amongst others.

It also proposes the establishment of a Food Security Committee in each state of the federation, whose functions shall include: implementing food security policy and programmes, participating in collection, preparation and dissemination of data on food security and nutrition in the state.

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He said the committee shall also be charged with identifying food insecure areas, appropriating programmes and eligible beneficiaries in relation to food security.

Clause 35, Part VII of the bill establishes a “Food Insecurity and Information Mapping System”, making it mandatory for the Agency to work in collaboration with Ministries of Finance, Disaster Management, Planning and National Security to provide the information needed to develop and strengthen the capacity to respond to food emergencies.

In a related development, the Senate also on Tuesday considered the Rice Development Council Bill, 2019.

Sponsor of the bill, Senator Enagi Bima, in his lead debate, said the proposed legislation seeks to establish a Council that will revolutionize the entire value chain on rice.

According to the lawmaker, the establishment of a National Rice Development Council will transform the activities of rice farmers, rice processors, millers, researchers, marketers and other important stakeholders across the entire rice value chain in the country.

The two bills after consideration were referred by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, to the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development for further legislative work.

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