Smallholder Farmers are Key to Solving Global Food Insecurity

by Comfort Onyaga, Founder Izanu Africa, Nigeria and MS Candidate at Murdoch University, Australia

Food security is a global problem, and climate change remains the biggest threat. In Nigeria, smallholder farmers who contribute to about 80% of the food produced are the most impacted. The United Nations reported in 2022 that "more than 440,000 hectares of farmland were partially or totally damaged at a time when more than 19 million people across Nigeria were facing severe food insecurity."

There is an urgent need to deploy innovative solutions to address the global food crisis amidst the projection that the world will need more than 70% of the current volume of food produced to feed the growing population.

In the face of these daunting challenges, smallholder farmers continue to grapple with the trilemma of rising costs of inputs, low productivity, and exclusion from financial services due to their inability to demonstrate the profitability of their businesses and provide collateral to meet the requirements of financial institutions. These challenges continue to strain their ability to guarantee everyone’s access to adequate, safe, and nourishing food; one that meets their dietary requirements and food choices for an active and healthy life.?All these challenges fueled my decision to pursue a Master of Food Security.

Thanks to a travel scholarship from Bayer, I was able to attend IFAMA 2024 World Conference in Spain. The conference granted me access to industry leaders who have now become mentors and gave me the opportunity to connect with young professionals who share a similar passion.

The IFAMA 2024 World Conference, themed “Food Security through Innovation and Sustainability,” and the Global Student Case Competition, strategically positioned me to directly engage with critical stakeholders including academia and industry leaders. I am a Founder of an AgriTech startup that equips smallholder farmers with climate risk management tools and insurance, Izanu Africa. I plan to leverage the knowledge and insights of acadamians and industry leaders to build a more resilient food system for my country and continent as we work concertedly to meet our targets on zero hunger.

The highlight of the IFAMA 2024 World Conference for me was participating in the competition and earning second place, and listening to other competitors pitch their solutions to the case study. Furthermore, the panel discussions and research presentations with in-depth analysis of the power of disruptive innovation in addressing the food crisis across different regions of the globe was a validation that aligned with my conviction that solving the challenges of food security require multi-pronged approaches that combine interdisciplinary, sustainable, disruptive approaches to building a resilient food system that can guarantee food and nutritious security for all.

I look forward to leveraging these new knowledge and networks to scale impact through Izanu Africa and my service to the industry.