Development expert Segun Alabi has warned that Nigeria could face severe food shortages if farm extension services continue to be neglected, stressing that millions of Nigerians risk going hungry without adequate technical support for farmers.
Speaking during an interview on Arise News on Saturday, Alabi explained that farm extension workers remain the backbone of agricultural productivity, particularly for smallholder farmers who make up the bulk of Nigeria’s food producers.
He noted that extension workers serve as the crucial link between agricultural research, government policies, and farmers at the grassroots, helping farmers adopt improved farming methods, modern inputs, and climate-smart practices.
“When you remove extension workers from the system, you are practically abandoning the farmer,” Alabi said.
“That is how you end up with low yields, rising food prices, and eventually hunger affecting millions of people.”
Alabi warned that the consequences of weak extension services go beyond farmers alone, stressing that consumers ultimately bear the burden through higher food costs and scarcity.
According to him, poor guidance on pest control, soil management, and improved seedlings has already reduced productivity in many farming communities.
He further stated that several government agricultural programmes have failed because they do not adequately fund or prioritise extension services. “You cannot roll out agricultural policies from Abuja and expect results without people on the ground translating them to farmers,” he said.
Alabi added that Nigeria currently has an alarming ratio of extension workers to farmers, making effective outreach almost impossible. He explained that in many rural communities, farmers go through entire planting seasons without seeing a single extension officer.
“In some states, one extension worker is expected to cover thousands of farmers,” he said. “That is not extension service; that is abandonment. No system can deliver food security under such conditions.”
He also warned that the situation poses a long-term risk to national stability, noting that food insecurity often fuels poverty, rural-urban migration, and social unrest. According to him, neglecting extension services today could create deeper economic and security challenges tomorrow.
“When people cannot feed their families, desperation sets in,” Alabi said. “Food insecurity is not just an agricultural issue; it is a national security issue.”
Alabi called on federal and state governments to urgently recruit, train, and deploy more farm extension workers, stressing that food security is impossible without sustained support for farmers at the grassroots. “If we are serious about ending hunger, extension services must be treated as a national priority, not an afterthought,” he said.
Triumph Ojo
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