Role of Extension in Food Security and Livelihood in Developing Countries

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·        Food security in a broader sense has to do with having at all times and adequate level of food products to meet increasing consumption demand to migrate fluctuation in output and price (indria, Gwary and Shehu 2008) United Nation (2009) defined food security as “all people at all times having both physical and economic access to the basic food they need”. The world food summit of 1996 defined food security as existing “when all people at all-time have access to sufficient, safe nutrition food to maintain a healthy and active life”. Ladele and Ayoola (1997) view food security as a function of food production levels that is high levels of food production is equals to food security. However to oriala (2009) food security entails producing food that will go round every citizen both quality and quantity.Yakubu (2001) showed that in 1985-1993 plan placed embargo on importation of some food items in the hope that will encourage local production which will support use of agricultural raw materials for the local industries. For Nigeria to achieve full production of food and to be able to have full food security there is need for the government to revisit all these past policies for effective food production and food security for the nation.

AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION PROGRAMME FOR FOOD SECURITY LIVELIHOOD:

·        The federal government of Nigeria has embarked on various extension programmes. These performances are aimed at making extension services more effective in order to realize the objectives of increasing productivity and thereby raise standard of living of the rural people. Some of the programmes include River Basin Development Programme (RBDP) Operation Feed the Nation (OFN) Green Revolution (GR) the Directorate for Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure (DFRRI) Agricultural Development Programme (ADP). Not with standing these interventions, imparts bills of Nigeria kept soaring such that she impact approximately US $ 3.5 billion in food products annually making food impacts to grow at an unsustainable rate 11% per annum.