An Interview With Martita Mestey
Physical Security: the top priority for achieving food security is physical security, which involves securing the farmers and all participants in the food value chain and ecosystem. For example, Benue, the food basket of Nigeria, has had a lot of communal clashes. Farmers aren’t able to get to their farms. They cannot farm and some have missed the yam planting season because they are in the Internally Displaced Persons Camp. This will likely lead to a significant shortage of crops, especially yams, during the upcoming harvesting season. To prevent this challenge from worsening we must secure farmers, the road networks, and the communities they live in.
The cascading logistical problems caused by the pandemic and the war in Eastern Europe have made securing a reliable supply chain a national imperative. What must agriculture companies and policymakers do to ensure secure and resilient food supply chains? In this interview series, we are talking to business leaders who can share insights from their experiences about how we can address these challenges. As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Adebayo Adeleke.
Adebayo Adeleke is an experienced supply chain professional with knowledge in risk management, security, geopolitics, indigenous supply chain, security, and trade. Adebayo has also served as a combat veteran in the United States Army for 20 years. His policy briefs on supply chain, security, and other resources have been featured in the London School of Economics, the African Report, and others. His desire to provide supply chain intelligence for stakeholders to make informed decisions concerning trade and supply chain in the continent led him to start Supply Chain Africa (SCA) -the supply chain data bank for Africa.
In 2022, he was a speaker at the World Trade Organization Public Forum, and in 2023, he joined other global leaders to review the Economic Development In Africa Report, 2023 by the United Nations. Adebayo Adeleke has also led research projects where he and a team of experts analysed the potential of Indigenous logistics systems to drive trade in Africa.
As a security and supply expert, he is also focused on addressing food insecurity and agricultural challenges responsible for food insecurity.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you. Can you tell us a bit about how you grew up?
My name is Adebayo Adeleke. I was born in, Ilesha a small town known for its significant gold deposits in Osun State, Nigeria. I spent my early years in Ile-Ife, about 50 kilometres from Ilesha. This is where I completed my primary, and high school education before going to the Adventist Seminary of West Africa, later renamed Babcock University in Ogun State. After moving to the United States, I joined the United States Army and focused on supply chain and logistics. For over 20 years, I served in various roles in more than 35 countries. In 2018, I retired and transitioned to an academic role, teaching about supply chain and leadership for four years. I also started a consulting firm, covering supply chain, security, defence, and geopolitics. Growing up in Southern Nigeria during the 1980s influenced my understanding of supply chain management. Spending time with my grandmother, a cocoa farmer and aggregator, taught me a lot about sourcing, procurement, negotiation, pricing strategies, and food security practices. These experiences continue to impact my professional work and bring back cherished memories.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
Circa 2016, I was in Jordan, and I found out there was a road from the north of Iraq to Jordan that had been closed for many years. I also noticed that food coming into Jordan had to take a long route through Kuwait, which seemed like a hassle. I suggested opening a road to help the US military get food faster. I didn’t finish this project, but I did help in reopening the road between Jordan and Iraq, so food delivery was quicker. This showed me how important it is to transport food efficiently for food safety.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Loyalty is the first trait a leader needs and my team members taught me. During my time in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, we had to decide on something. Everyone on my team had their opinions, but I made a decision that was not favoured by many, and they still supported me. The outcome was unpleasant and although they could have said “I told you so,” they respected my decision. That loyalty meant a lot, and the experience taught me to also commit to the people I am privileged to lead. The second trait is a sense of duty. Every leader must have this. When I was young, I worked in a warehouse, and one day, a colleague was down with health challenges and couldn’t do his task, so I covered for him. When he returned, he told me that I didn’t just cover for him, I made work go on as though he never left and preserved the sense of normalcy at the warehouse. His words made me realize the impact of my actions and how a leader must always show up to work. With an excellent sense of duty, making sure every goal is achieved. The final trait is resilience and I have stories to share, but I’d stick to one. I was an airborne paratrooper in the US military, and a crucial part of our job was to become a jumpmaster. It was a challenging experience. The training school was tough, requiring memorization, intelligence, and physical skills to understand and identify different faults in the paratroopers. We had a three-week training, and I always failed in the last week. It was downright depressing because of the high expectations and ridicule. I had to remind myself that being a jumpmaster didn’t define my leadership abilities. It was just a requirement, not the end of the road. This resilient spirit was crucial to maintaining belief in myself and my capabilities, especially amidst the jokes and taunts from others. Every leader who will change the world has to know that not everything will go your way, but you cannot afford to throw in the towel.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Of course. I am working on a research project to thoroughly diagnose the challenge of food insecurity in Nigeria and provide sustainable solutions to stop it for good. My team and I embarked on this research because we understand that data is crucial in addressing food insecurity and securing the future of nations, regions, and continents. This research will provide comprehensive data to identify the root causes of food insecurity and address issues such as food inflation, food resiliency, food integration, food mapping, and the impact of food security on national and healthcare security. Additionally, our research will highlight opportunities for government and private sector collaboration to develop the food ecosystem.
Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. To ensure that we are all on the same page let’s begin with some simple definitions. What does the term “supply chain” encompass?
Supply Chain includes everything and everyone involved in turning raw material into a finished product until it is delivered to the final consumer. Manufacturing, logistics, warehousing, and all the other elements are a part of the supply chain.
Can you help articulate the weaknesses in our current food supply chain systems?
The current system for supplying food has several problems. One major issue is that we don’t know where our food comes from or how it gets to us. This makes it hard to follow how it is made and handled. As a result, we can’t see the whole supply process.
Moving food from one place to another is also flawed, causing high costs and delays. Challenges like bad weather and poor power supply make it hard to keep food fresh, resulting in a lot of waste.
Can you help define what a nationally secure and resilient food supply chain would look like?
A strong and secure food supply chain provides safe, healthy, and affordable food to all, even when there are disruptions. A resilient food supply chain foresees risks ahead of time and mitigates them. A secure national food supply chain is one with reliable infrastructure. This includes ensuring that cold storage facilities have adequate refrigeration along the supply chain to keep perishable foods fresh.
This supply chain integrates advanced technology. IoT (Internet of Things) and sensors. A nationally secure and resilient food supply chain uses blockchain technology to make the food supply chain clearer and easy to follow, and AI/machine learning to predict demand and stop waste. A resilient food supply chain has different sources and supports local farmers and farming, so a country does not rely so much on faraway sources.
Can you share with our readers a few of the things that your organization is doing to help create a more secure food supply chain?
We are working on alleviating the food scarcity challenges in Nigeria, the most populated country in Africa. This means we are studying factors that make it hard for people to get enough food, like the hike in food prices and the border problems.Our organisation wants to understand the challenges farmers and communities in Nigeria face and work towards making a safer way to get food in and across the country.
What are a few threats over the horizon that might disrupt our food supply chain that we should take action now to correct? Can you please explain?
This is a great question. Climate change is an ongoing threat that will impact our food production. Water scarcity in our region will also continue to be a concern. Conserving water and planting more trees are not negotiable.
What are the “5 Things We Must Do To Create Nationally Secure And Resilient Food Supply Chains” and why?
I think food security depends on each country’s development stage. Different regions have different needs. What works in African countries may not be suitable for other parts of the world like Europe, Asia, or the Americas. It’s important to consider the specific needs of each country. In Nigeria, there are several key areas to focus on to transition from food insecurity to food security. First, we need to address physical and communal insecurity, especially in areas that are important for food production but are affected by conflicts. Then, we must invest in infrastructure such as storage facilities and transportation networks. Lastly, we should promote local and regional food production to increase food security.
That said, here are 5 things to do to create a nationally secure and resilient Food Supply Chains
- Physical Security: the top priority for achieving food security is physical security, which involves securing the farmers and all participants in the food value chain and ecosystem. For example, Benue, the food basket of Nigeria, has had a lot of communal clashes. Farmers aren’t able to get to their farms. They cannot farm and some have missed the yam planting season because they are in the Internally Displaced Persons Camp. This will likely lead to a significant shortage of crops, especially yams, during the upcoming harvesting season. To prevent this challenge from worsening we must secure farmers, the road networks, and the communities they live in.
- Invest in Infrastructure: There’s a need to improve storage facilities, transportation networks, and cold chain systems to enhance the efficiency and reliability of the food supply chain. I’ve travelled extensively on Nigerian roads and have been consistently surprised by the high transportation cost. The cost of wood, for example, is largely due to transportation expenses, which account for 70% of the total cost. I believe this is because of the poor condition of Nigerian roads. While efforts have been made by various levels of government to improve road accessibility and connectivity, Nigeria still lacks an adequate road network. Although there are plans to develop rail and water transportation, these initiatives have not been as effective as needed. The poor road conditions and lack of logistical corridors make it challenging to transport goods from one point to another in Nigeria. One specific example is the transport of tomatoes from Kano in the north to Lagos in the south, which can take up to 72 hours, leading to a 66% spoilage rate for the tomatoes. We need better infrastructure to improve transportation efficiency and food security in Nigeria. This will also ensure safe storage and transmission of food, and improve traceability and visibility of food, which is crucial for managing supply chain disruptions.
- Promote Local and Regional Food Production: The number one integrator in Nigeria is food. We’ve done enough mapping to follow different food routes. The country’s food supply has a significant impact on its overall well-being. In the southwest region of Nigeria, each state faces unique challenges in food production. For example, no state in the southwest has 5,000 hectares of land specifically dedicated to food production. This creates longer supply chains, making food more expensive. To improve food resilience, each state should focus on producing a few key products efficiently, reducing supply chain costs, and ensuring food affordability. The state must also support small-scale farmers, encourage urban farming initiatives, and dedicate land to specific crops in states with competitive advantages in food production. This will reduce dependency on food from other places and strengthen local food systems, making the supply chain more resilient to disruptions.
- Enhance Collaboration and Information Sharing: The rapidly growing population in Nigeria has led to significantly increased consumption. To address this and improve agricultural production, we require access to data that is currently not publicly available. Having this data would enable people to make informed decisions and come up with effective solutions. Enhancing collaboration and information sharing is crucial to further support these initiatives. I’ve noticed that many Nigerian farmers are not aware of the value of the products they grow. This is a big problem. We must improve collaboration and information sharing among farmers, producers, retailers, and government agencies in the food supply chain. This can be done by creating platforms for better communication, data sharing, and coordination to address challenges and disruptions more effectively.
- Prioritize Sustainability and Resilience: Climate change is having a significant impact on agriculture and food production. In Nigeria and across sub-Saharan Africa, the traditional sustainable farming methods have been compromised due to climate change. This has led to noticeable changes in the quality of crops. Excessive rains and flooding are causing cassava to absorb more water, leading to a decrease in its starch content. This affects the final quality of cassava-based products like Garri. I was in the Wuse market in Abuja, Nigeria and there were complaints from sellers and buyers on the quality of the cassava being less starchy., Similarly, rising temperatures are affecting cocoa production, forcing farmers to seek high-temperature-tolerant cocoa seeds. These changes in agriculture due to climate change have far-reaching effects on food security and nutrition. We need to consider these challenges in our policies and farming methods to ensure the continued production of quality and nutritious food. We also need to focus on making farming more sustainable and resilient. This includes reducing food waste, using eco-friendly packaging, and minimizing the environmental impact of the food supply chain. It’s also important to plan for emergencies like natural disasters and pandemics.
Are there other ideas or considerations that should encourage us to reimagine our food supply chain?
Nature works as a whole system, and we must know how our actions affect food production and do our part to make sure our food system stays healthy.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
Let’s spread the word about food security. Food is important because it gives us energy to stay alive and healthy. It’s vital for our survival. If we don’t have secure access to food, it’s hard to be sure we’ll be okay. The possibility of not having enough food is a threat to everyone, not just people in one place.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You can find more of my work on my website at www.adebayoadeleke.com
You can also connect with me on Twitter at @temibayo1 and on LinkedIn at Adebayo Adeleke. Additionally, I write a weekly Geopolitics and Supply Chain Rundown (GSR) on my LinkedIn and website, focusing on the latest global supply chain developments.
This was very inspiring and informative. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this interview!
How Adebayo Adeleke Is Helping To Address The Growing Challenge Of Food Insecurity was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.