{"id":488,"date":"2026-07-09T15:21:41","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T14:21:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=488"},"modified":"2026-07-09T15:21:42","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T14:21:42","slug":"commessa-holds-garri-festival-to-highlight-worsening-food-insecurity-in-nigeria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=488","title":{"rendered":"COMMESSA Holds Garri Festival To Highlight Worsening Food Insecurity In Nigeria"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Oghenerogbome<\/strong> Idoro<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka, recently hosted a colourful Garri Festival that brought together students and staff to celebrate one of Nigeria\u2019s most widely consumed staple foods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event attracted a large turnout and combined cultural expression, student interaction, and discussions on the importance of garri in Nigerian society, particularly among students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the celebration, the festival served as an educational platform to highlight the relevance of garri in everyday life, its production process, challenges faced by producers, and its role as a dependable food source for students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking at the event, the host, Comr. Mike Abraham, said the festival was organised out of his passion for bringing students together beyond academic activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Mike, who is the COMMESSA Director of Information and Chairman of its Disciplinary Committee, garri remains a reliable source of food security for students because of its affordability, accessibility, and ease of preparation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGarri is considered one of the most important foods among students because it is our go-to meal at any moment. Imagine coming back from lectures tired\u2014garri is the quickest thing you can lay your hands on, and it is not expensive,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He explained that garri can be consumed in various forms, including soaked in water with sugar and groundnuts or prepared as eba and eaten with soup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStudents enjoy garri in different ways. You can soak it and drink it, or prepare it as eba. It is flexible, and that is why it remains very popular among students,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mike also highlighted some of the challenges faced by cassava farmers and garri producers across the country. According to him, insecurity in farming communities and poor road networks continue to affect production and distribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe challenges garri producers face include insecurity in the bush where they farm cassava and bad roads, which make it difficult to access farms and transport products,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite these challenges, he noted that garri continues to play a vital role in sustaining both rural producers and urban consumers, particularly students who rely on it as a quick and affordable meal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking on the significance of the festival, he said the event promoted unity, culture, and awareness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Garri Festival brings people together. It shows how food connects us. I was surprised by the turnout. It is the first of its kind in our faculty, and the participation was massive,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students who attended the event also shared their experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Isaac Oghenesero of the Department of Film and Multimedia Studies described the festival as a fun and relaxing event that allowed students to enjoy traditional food together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted that garri remains popular because it is affordable and easy to prepare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, Rosemary Akposanfagha, a 100-level student of Journalism and Media Studies, described the festival as enjoyable and refreshing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked which state produces the best garri in Nigeria, she said Delta State stands out based on her experience with its processing methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can\u2019t really say the best state for garri production, but from my experience, I would say Delta State because the processing there seems more refined compared to some other places,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rosemary rated her personal preference for garri as moderate, noting that while she does not consume it frequently, she appreciates its convenience and nutritional value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGarri is the fastest food you can get when you come back from lectures and you are hungry. If you don\u2019t have time or strength to cook, you can quickly prepare it before eating something else later,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She added that noodles would likely be the closest alternative if garri did not exist because of their quick preparation time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking about the garri served at the festival, Rosemary praised the creative presentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, I tasted it. It was nice and tasteful. They added sugar, ice, milk, and fruits. It gave a healthy and refreshing vibe,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her remarks reflected the innovative approach used by organisers to transform a basic student meal into a refreshing dish while preserving its cultural significance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, participants described the Garri Festival as both educational and entertaining. The event not only celebrated a staple Nigerian food but also created a platform for discussions on food security, student welfare, and agricultural challenges in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The festival ended on a positive note, with students calling for similar events in the future and reaffirming the role of food as a powerful tool for unity and community building.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Oghenerogbome Idoro The Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka, recently hosted a colourful Garri Festival that brought together students and staff to celebrate one of Nigeria\u2019s most widely consumed staple foods. The event attracted a large turnout and combined cultural expression, student interaction, and discussions on the importance of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":490,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,52,14],"tags":[31,124,25,26],"class_list":["post-488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-politics","category-trendingnews","tag-abraka","tag-commessa","tag-delsu","tag-education"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=488"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":489,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488\/revisions\/489"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}