By Jude Michael
Experts in climate matters have decried the impact of climate change on food production in Nigeria, lamenting that many Nigerians remain unaware of how their everyday actions contribute to the growing crisis.
Grace Oluchi Mbah, Co-founder and Executive Director of Climate Action Africa (CAA), formerly referred to as CMA, and other experts, stated this in Awka on Tuesday during a workshop on climate change.
Mbah hailed Nigeria’s commitment to major international climate agreements. She mentioned some of the agreements to include the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the 2005 Kyoto Protocol, and the 2015 Paris Agreement, which, she said, Nigeria signed in 2016 and ratified in 2017.
‘Under my watch, Climate Action Africa has mobilized a significant network of over 100 climate activists across 15 African countries to fight the debilitating effect of climate change on food production in Africa.
‘In Nigeria, the escalating food shortages, marked by rising prices and decreased availability of agricultural products, are palpable. Yet, many Nigerians remain unaware of how their everyday actions contribute to this growing crisis.
‘The impact of climate change in Nigeria is unmistakable, yet there is a lack of awareness about the necessary measures to mitigate these effects.
‘For residents aged between 30 and 60 in Northern Nigeria, climate change is most noticeable through the dramatic shrinkage of Lake Chad – over 90% in the past six decades.
‘For others, it manifests as erratic weather patterns—absent harmattan winds in December, delayed rains, and increasingly unbearable heat. Essentially, climate change encompasses all human activities, including the emission of gases through everyday actions like respiration, impacting the planet either positively or negatively,’ Mbah said.
She noted that while Nigeria had made strides in some areas of climate policy, it fell short in others, especially in reducing emissions.
She advocated for an energy transition focusing on natural and compressed gas as transitional energy sources and called for increased government synergy and innovation in climate action across all sectors.
Other experts, including Dr. Shakirat Solebo, Director of the Genetics, Genomics, and Bioinformatics Department at the National Biotechnology Development Agency, pointed out the potential of Genome Editing Technology.
‘This innovative approach can enhance agricultural productivity by developing better-yielding and quicker-maturing seedlings, vital for ensuring food security as Nigeria’s population grows,’ Solebo said.
