The latest warnings from the World Bank regarding soaring global commodity prices and worsening food insecurity should serve as a warning for policy-makers in our country.
With global food prices projected to climb 10% this year and another 7% in 2027, driven by compounding geopolitical shocks, energy spikes, and climate anomalies, the external economic environment is turning perilous.
For our nation, where millions are already battered by a prolonged inflation crisis, real-wage squeeze, and a 3.4% GDP growth slowdown that have pushed over 2.1 million new citizens into poverty, we cannot wait until the situation becomes even more precarious.
Food security is not merely an economic metric but the ultimate test of national survival. When global grain supply lines fracture and fertilizer and fuel costs surge, import-dependent economies, which we unfortunately are, face immediate vulnerability.
Yet, while international warnings mount, domestic market syndicates, hoarding rings, and other bad actors continue to artificially inflate essential food prices inside our own borders. This results in bleeding dry a population where nearly half of all households are already taking on high-interest informal debt just to buy daily meals.
Ensuring that every citizen has guaranteed access to affordable food must therefore become the singular, uncompromised focus of the state.
From bolstering national strategic food reserves to diversifying import sources to bypass regional supply disruptions to ruthlessly dismantling domestic syndicates that prey on hungry families, we need an efficient, coordinated, and proactive reaction.
Furthermore, agricultural inputs such as fertilizers, power, and seed support must be secured for farmers to maximize local crop yields and insulate the country from external shocks.
There is nothing more important than ensuring no citizen goes to sleep hungry. We must secure our food supply chains and treat national food security as the absolute, non-negotiable bottom line of survival.