A NATION OF HUNGRY PEOPLE

The authorities must do more to bring down the cost of food

The 5th Wave of National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) General Household Survey 2023/2024 which tracked the resilience of Nigerians over time was released last Thursday. A combination of climate-induced issues, recent reform programmes and security challenges are sparking growing food crisis in the country. That’s the conclusion of the latest NBS report done in collaboration with the World Bank. In the past 12 months, the report further stated, “more than one-third of households faced food shortages, which occurred more frequently in the months of June, July, and August. Price increases on major food items were the most prevalent shock reported by households, affecting 71.0 per cent of surveyed households.”

Approximately two out of three households indicated being unable to eat healthy, nutritious or preferred foods because of lack of money in the last 30 days, according to the report. “Similarly, 63.8 per cent of households ate only a few kinds of food due to lack of money, 62.4 per cent were worried about not having enough food to eat, and 60.5 per cent ate less than they thought they should,” the report stated. “Between Waves 4 and 5, the proportion of households that reported being worried about not having enough food to eat because of lack of money increased significantly, from 36.9 per cent to 62.4 per cent.”

Even before the latest report, the United Nations had predicted a looming acute hunger in Nigeria and 20 other countries in the coming months. But it is concerning that domestic food price inflation in Nigeria remains among the highest globally. The 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 not serious about bringing down the prices of essential food commodities in a bid to alleviate the current suffering by Nigerians.

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 four 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.”

While hunger is a general problem in the country, 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.” 

In the 2023 Global Hunger Index (GHI) report, Nigeria was reported to have “a level of hunger that is serious.” Yet today the situation is far worse. Since food is needed for survival and well-being, there is a need for urgent intervention to avert a human catastrophe in the country. While commend  both the Minister of Budget and Planning, Abubakar Bagudu and the Statistician-General of the Federation, Adeyemi Adeniran, for the survey that captures the dynamics of Nigerian households, we enjoin authorities at all levels to come up with practical solutions to the challenge of food security in Nigeria.