THE GROWING FOOD CRISIS IN NIGERIA
Government must do more to avert the looming danger
A combination of climate-induced issues and socio-political instability in various regions are sparking growing food crisis in the country. That’s the conclusion of the latest report of the World Bank on Nigeria with over one million additional people said to be experiencing severe food insecurity in 2024 compared to the previous year. “Conversely, some countries saw improvements,” according to the ‘Food Security Update Report’ which lists Nigeria among countries like Ethiopia and Yemen that have seen a significant rise in the number of people facing acute food shortages. Nations such as Afghanistan, Guatemala, and Kenya reported declines in food insecurity, with more than one million fewer people facing acute food crises, although they remained in significant food crisis situations.
Even before the latest World Bank report, the United Nations had echoed similar sentiments, predicting a looming acute hunger in Nigeria and 20 other countries in the coming months. But it is worrying that domestic food price inflation in Nigeria remains among the highest globally, with food prices increasing by 37.5% year-on-year as of August 2024, going by the World Bank report. This price surge has strained household incomes, making it increasingly difficult for low-income families to afford basic food items.
To compound the challenge, it would seem that the federal government is unserious about bringing down the prices of essential food commodities in order to alleviate the current suffering in the country. On 15 July, the federal government announced the implementation of the import duty waiver programme on food items expected to run till 31 December 2024. But more than three months after that announcement, not much has happened with reports that stringent guidelines have hampered its operation. Yet, the gravity of the situation was better expressed in a statement by UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation Director-General, Qu Dongyu who noted that “The magnitude
of suffering is alarming. It is incumbent upon all of us to act now and to act fast to save lives, safeguard livelihoods and prevent the worst situation.”
As of June, the number of Nigerians grappling with food insecurity had reached a whopping 31 million. “Unless targeted humanitarian actions in the forms of food assistance, emergency agricultural support and resilience livelihood re-building interventions are urgently implemented among the risk populations, their FNI situation may deteriorate further,” the report stated. The recent flooding in several communities across the country has only compounded the woes of millions of Nigerians. Since food is needed for survival and well-being, there is a need for urgent intervention to avert a human catastrophe. We therefore enjoin the authorities at all levels in the country to come up with practical solutions to the challenge of food security in Nigeria.
While it is a general problem, the food crisis is more pronounced in the Northeast. “Food insecurity and malnutrition are among the main drivers of humanitarian need in the BAY (Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe) states,” said the head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Nigeria, Trond Jensen. “People have been forced to adopt negative coping mechanisms such as survival sex and child labour to stay alive. Over the past year, dozens of farmers have lost their lives, and others have been abducted or injured while eking out a living outside the security perimeters of Borno’s garrison towns due to limited farming lands and few or no livelihood options.”
President Bola Tinubu must intervene to ensure the implementation of the policy on food import waiver announced months ago.
