Abstract:

The global food crisis of 2007-2008 was a wakeup call to the governments of both the developed and developing world to the fact that food security was crucial to the economic and political stability of the state following the food riots that occurred in over twenty-two countries. However, developing countries despite their abundant natural resources were most affected due to their over dependence on food imports to sustain their food supply and lack of industrialisation. Hunger, malnutrition and poverty have become the defining factor of developing countries such as Nigeria. The major objectives of this research work are; to examine the impact of international trade on the food security of developing countries using Nigeria’s Fourth Republic as a study and to examine the effectiveness of agricultural policies set up by the Nigerian government in sustaining Nigeria’s food security. For clarity, the dependency theory was employed. This research made use of both primary and secondary method of data collection. The major findings of the study are; international trade has a negative impact on Nigeria’s state of food security due to overdependence on food imports and lack of industrialisation. Also, policies and strategies adopted did somewhat trivially to address the issue of food insecurity squarely due to poor implementation, over-reliance on oil exports and neglect of the agricultural sector. This study recommends urgent need to invest in biotechnology and diversification of Nigeria’s economy so as to enhance food security and a sustainable development in the Agricultural sector.