How to tackle domestic inflation for food sufficiency: 5 Ways approach
Going by the present economic situation in the state, I have a dream to combat domestic inflation in Akwa Ibom State with a zero tolerance. When Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) rated Akwa Ibom as the 2nd unemployed state in the federation,
I took a bold step to debunk that information because they don’t have a social system to know who is employed or who is not employed in a state. But when they also rated us as the highest on DOMESTIC INFLATION, I took it seriously because inflation can be diagnosed and it’s equally affecting me and my family too. Now that GARRI is 3cups for N200, a minimum wage or unemployed urban family can’t feed well this period.
A good economy is always known during production or planting season through the abundance of food in the store house. That’s why Joseph advised Pharaoh to store grains against the years of famine that was about to come.
Inflation is a social danger to any economy and it’s not something we can hide or play politics over, because the moment people walk into shops or market to buy, prices of goods will tell them the truth. Most rich politicians don’t feel the afflictions of inflation because their Per Capita Income are above global average; it is the poor masses that are always the victims, and that’s why a good government should be very sensitive to guide against inflation occurring in an economy.
In a simple term, it occurs when prices of goods are higher than what buyers or consumers can buy. While Domestic Inflation is when same goods are sold higher in a particular state or province than the way it is sold in other states. There are factors that always birth domestic inflation; it can be classified into Corporate, Industrial, Urban, and Rural inflations.
A CASE STUDY OF AKWA IBOM
Apart from the logistic inflation which has influenced the prices of various civil goods and provisions in the state, we can speedily tackle food inflation since we have competitive advantage over it. The causes of logistic inflation are national factors but we can mitigate food inflation which is caused by domestic factors. Akwa Ibom dwellers consume Garri, Rice, Bread, and Vegetables than any other food. We don’t have competitive advantage over RICE since we can’t grow much here, but we have over cassava, vegetables, and flour production if mechanized agriculture becomes our major priority.
MY APPROACH
1. We need more farmers than fertilizers; excess fertilization on our farms with limited farmers (units of farm) will lead to the Law of Diminishing Returns in output and that law is very friendly with inflation. A lot of farmers will be employed to cultivate for the government while we pay them wages; that will motivate our young graduates to embrace agriculture instead of remaining unemployed.
2. We need to dualize Calabar/Itu highway to Ayadehe head bridge and also extend it to Abia state boundaries at Ikot Ekpene side; later we will get the money from federal government. That road is our MEAL ROUTE because about 70% of the garri and other root vegetables like: yam, wateryam, and cocoyam are brought in from northern Cross River (Atam) through that road; even the livestock and spices we consume are conveyed through that road from the north, and by the time food traders go through rigorous processes to navigate through the bad road with drivers who may spend more fuel in their vehicles, the price of goods will certainly go up.
The rainy season also contributes immensely to the inflation because most traders are afraid of going to buy garri and other items under the rain with a bad road that can make trucks to collapse in transit. We will store enough food to cover the planting season.
3. I will set up an agency to monitor activities of trade unions in the state and prosecutes influencers of standard price of goods.
4. Petroleum products in the state will be highly monitored by a trade task force to ensure prices are not influenced above national prices.
5. We will tackle rural insecurity so that farmers will be safe in their duty posts.
This is my blueprint but the government can adopt these ideas if they see senses in them.
LET’S SAVE OUR LAND FROM FAMINE!
Ekom Umoh is Economic Developer and Content Expert.
