Climate change, agribusiness and global food security consolidation 2

The contemporary global agribusiness focuses on green agriculture, which is the sustainable farming that provides the needed solutions for food security and sustainable maintenance of the global environmental issues. Acknowledging the fact that climate change impacts the earth’s environment with diverse kinds of abnormal environmental challenges that manifest in different forms; the global fight against climate change to bring it under control involves conservation philosophies, policies and practices to prevent further degradation of the ecosystem. It is therefore, on its own, a battle for man’s existential survival on the planet earth, of which the movement directly touches on ways and means for sustainable energy production, generation and consumption; both for the humans, as well as in man’s immediate living environment. 

Life, in essence cannot thrive, neither could it be meaningful without adequate provision of an arrangement for food sufficiency in the society; which can only be actualised and powered by the economic activities of agribusiness that will ensure and guarantee global food security. These institutional rules and regulations that need to be structurally put in place, to guide man’s actions in conducting his daily economic chores and social tasks (as have been earlier pointed out under philosophies, policies and practices), are the control measures that must be strictly observed and constantly implemented in the pursuit of contemporary global agribusiness.     

From studies already conducted, food security consolidation simply invokes the application of the traditional subsistence agricultural mindset in pursuant of global food security actualisation, in the glaring face of climate change challenges. Subsistent agricultural mindset takes cognisance of the fact that environmental pollution is reduced to the barest minimum with respect to carbon emissions resulting from the use of fossil fuel sources to generate energy and also power motorised mechanised farming in agribusiness. The traditional culture also utilises organic fertilisers in place of chemically recreated fertilisers that leave behind soil devastation whenever environmental audit is done or conducted after each farming season (which is always the impact observed through chemical leaching of the soil). The antidote to climate change for food security consolidation rests on optimal usage of energy mix module in powering agribusiness by its energy consumption resting significantly on energy addition in the energy transition plan of the global economy, where renewable sources of energy shall be prioritised to play significant role in the energy value chains of the energy mix. This strategic approach is necessary because of the simple fact of the ever increasing global population that keeps mounting pressure on global food demand.

The suggested approach at the same time contributes significantly to climate change mitigation measures and adaptation strategy that constantly addresses green solutions for adequate agricultural production. The reason for achieving wonderful results from this farming technique is that benign materials are extensively utilised in the mechanised farming methods (agribusiness) for climate mitigation compliance, all through the farming cycle. The said approach also supports hybrid mode subsistence agriculture (HMSA-1) observed through carefully reviewed research work on green agriculture and food security. Hunger in its right sense shall be completely chased away by applying this concept in a changing world with a population growth that is ever increasing. Governments and the various economies of the world (both the rich and the poor economies and nations that are disadvantaged) require well committed efforts at their end, to encourage, guide, support and protect professional peasant farmers in their respective hamlets and locations; to grow and develop economically.

This move for agribusiness advancement in favour of the various portions of the small holder farmers, puts government on the spot to fund the modalities of engaging such small holder farmers that need to be arranged in their cluster groupings, under a corporately and well defined procedures during farming seasons with a little push and support in semi (or full) mechanised farming processes.

It is worthy of note to equivocally declare that food security consolidation, as being discussed, is among a few farming approaches that shall effectively encourage an efficient actualisation of carbon emissions reduction known as decarbonisation, by maintaining carbon neutrality that tones down to a very low carbon footprint to target net-zero carbon emissions effect as being programmed globally, in the course of fighting climate change challenges in all countries of the world. For Nigerians and all the arms and cadres of government in the agric sector, the nation’s rich and massive arable land mass may no longer be left empty and unutilized by the local, state and federal governments but, should be effectively and actively engaged in farming activities, towards actualising the needed food sufficiency in the country. Hunger in the land and high cost of commodities in food markets presently, demand the urgent attention of these governments (even at the local level); to champion the course of food sufficiency that shall be actualised through energy compliant mechanised agriculture that shall be all-inclusive, and the participatory engagement of every farmer within the economy.

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