Impediments against the realization of food security policy in imo state, Nigeria

Abstract

Achieving food security by the year 2020 is one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) objectives, which have made Nigeria, as a nation and Imo state in particular, to have food policy. However, this policy’s failure leads to wastages of government funds and efforts which make this research expedient. This study examines the socio-economic variables responsible for the non- realization of the government’s goal in Imo State, Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was presented to 280 respondents in the three-food producing zones of Imo state. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics namely; frequency distribution of Yes and No using percentages and such variables like corruption of officials, dependence on food imports, giving more social infrastructure to urban than rural areas, shortage of incentives for private sector participants, unequal social objective and unstable political environment, etc. The samples were also taken according to the three zones in Imo and on Local Government Area basis; one community represented a Local Government. Of all the variables, corruption has been identified as the main cause of food security policy failure in Imo vis-à-vis Nigeria. Appropriate recommendations were also made.

Key Words: Food security, Impediment, Food policy, Food production.