From inmates to farmers. Picturing how prisons might soon start growing food
One time in October 2021, the feeding allowance per inmate reportedly rose from ₦450 to ₦1,000, unfortunately, this announcement did not reflect in the meals that were served afterward.s.
By Ayodele Johnson
In the near future, it is possible that the inmates might be the ones to grow their food if Nigeria’s Ministry of Interior succeeds in efforts to encourage self-sufficiency at prisons.
This is the vision of Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the honourable Minister manning the ministry. He is spearheading that in collaboration with the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) so that this can be actualised. It matters in order to reduce budgetary strains caused by feeding expenses.
A new turn of events might also mean that prisoners have enough to go around under a coordinated farming programme. The visit on Thursday by NIRSAL’s Managing Director, Abbas Masanawa, to Minister Tunji-Ojo set the stage for a discussion around this.
“NIRSAL can do a lot of good to the Nigeria Correctional Service and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps,” a statement credited to the minister reads.
“With the rising budgetary cost in the feeding of inmates, NIRSAL can partner with the Interior Ministry to secure funds for the engagement of inmates for farming activities to produce their food.”
When and if this happens is marking a tidal change. A switch from when inmates would usually eat watery bean ration that had tiny stones in its ranks for breakfast. That makes for a terrible experience for the prisoners.
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Looking back to one time in October 2021, when the feeding allowance per inmate reportedly rose from ₦450 to ₦1,000, unfortunately, this announcement by a Senate Committee on Interior did not reflect in the meals that were served afterwards.
Instead, detainees and jailbirds continued on their personal task of providing adequate nutrition for themselves. That is why those who cannot gather culinary tools may feel like they are toast as life in prison remains tense. Perhaps, with the prison farming initiative offering a different approach, inmates will no longer visit their beds with a feeling that they are lacking.
Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.
