Rights to Food

In Nigeria the justification for a paradigm shift in the management of the large agricultural economy is premised on the attainment of food security as a critical policy objective for the most populous country in Africa. In this regard, certain policy and practice changes are required in terms of the perception of government and the people alike, as policy authorities and policy beneficiaries or targets respectively, given that the food security of the country remains in focus. Traditionally food is perceived as a basic human need, which implies that the failure of policies in meeting the food requirement of the people is practically inconsequential; but not as a basic human right, which implies that the failure to guarantee its adequate supply is actionable, justiciable and ultimately remediable by law. The difference between the two notions is not farfetched: while the former notion – food as a human need - views the role of government in formulating and implementing food policies as charity or doing the people a favour, the latter notion – food as a human right - views the role of government in this regard as mandatory to hold the policy authorities to account and also to induce increased food production through the demand side of the food market which will in turn trigger a steady supply response from farmers and other rural enterprises.