Forestalling Famine in the Wake of Food Crisis

It is an irony to lack amidst abundance. Such is the state of a land blessed in every form of richness; in culture, human and natural resources yet her people suffer critical hunger as though not endowed. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country is currently embattled with a plethora of crisis that cuts across all spheres of human existence. The Global Hunger Index report 2022, reveals the nation’s GHI score as 27.3, depicting grave hunger. Thus, the need for immediate interventions to forestall its debilitating effect. Lending credence to the current deteriorating state of nutrition in the country is another report by The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization which had predicted that about 19.4 million Nigerians will face food insecurity within the second half of year 2022.

Several factors have been implicated in this menace and they include: inadequate government support for farmers, lack of proper storage and processing facilities encouraging food wastage, the ugly trend of insecurity with consequent shortage in food production and inflation-driven poverty. The undesirable effect this situation has caused cannot be overemphasized as most Nigerian households continue to deal with ever-rising food prices while their income has remained static, resulting in poorer food access. Healthier diets are increasingly becoming unaffordable and this has led to a shift in diet patterns from local nutritious meals to cheaper and readily available ultra-processed, packaged and ready-to-eat foods, whose consumption have been linked to increased risks of metabolic changes and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). This is quite alarming as increase in the prevalence of NCDs have been shown to have negative impact on a nation’s economy by causing loss of productivity, income and human capital.

It is expected that stakeholders concerned take necessary actions to avert the impact of food crisis on the health of citizens. Considerably, appreciable efforts have been made towards encouraging local food production by placing import bans on certain foods and empowering several farm households by providing them with farm inputs and planting seeds. As good as this seems, it is not sustainable if insecurity still exists, as the unchecked battle between farmers and herders continues to thwart government objectives as reported by Monday Abel Otach et al.,2022.

There is an urgent need for effective monitoring and evaluation of implemented measures such as provision of subsidised farm inputs and soft agricultural loans (to boost food availability) and adequate storage and processing facilities (to curb food wastage). Innovative approaches that may be employed include the wide practice of dry season farming by irrigation and scaling up farming in no-conflict zones to make up for the reduction in food production caused by insecurity in some areas (Mohammed Abubakar 2022). At individual levels, households can grow home gardens as a remedy to alleviate hunger.

In conclusion, that Nigeria is food insecure is stating the obvious. To prevent the nation from being plunged into famine, a multisectorial approach involving all relevant stakeholders is required.

*An article by MPH (Population and Reproductive Health Nutrition) and Olubunmi Ojo 2018/2019 set.

Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Public Health.

University of Ibadan.