According to a survey by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), six out of 10 Nigerians are experiencing food insecurity. Plagued by rising food inflation and insecurity in several agrarian communities across the country, food has become an expensive elusive resource for most Nigerians.
The survey revealed that 58.5% of the country’s population is experiencing a high prevalence of moderate to severe food insecurity. The report stated that the Food insecurity situation has led to an increase in the proportion of the undernourished population in the country, which is 26 million, representing about 12.7% of the population.
The number of persons in the country with prevailing food insecurity has increased steadily from 2014 to 2021.
A three-year average saw 67.7 million people affected with moderate to severe food insecurity between 2014-2016, representing 34.7% of the population. This average figure increased from 2015 to 2017 to 77.5 million, 38.7% of the population.
Between 2016-2018, the total number of Nigerians affected by moderate or severe food insecurity increased to 88.1 million, taking up 42.8% of the population.
Between 2017-2019 those affected increased to 99.3 million, which was 47.1% of the population. The numbers rose to 114.4 million in 2018-2020, representing 53.5% of the population.
Food insecurity affected an average of 127.1 million people in 2019-2021, representing 58.5% of the population.
Those affected by severe food insecurity have also increased; approximately 11% were affected in the 2014-2016 period. The number of people affected increased over the subsequent phases, reaching 19.1% in 2019-2021.
The relationship between food insecurity and undernourishment is direct; as the number of people affected by food insecurity and its causative factors increased, so has the number of Nigerians suffering from undernourishment.
The proportion of Nigeria’s undernourished population dropped from 8.9% in 2001 to 2003, and the fall continued until 2008, when it was 6.6%. After this period, it grew marginally over the successive five periods, from 9.1% in 2011-2013 to 9.4% in the 2015-2017 period.
The percentage of undernourished Nigerians continued to grow and went from 10% in the 2016-2018 period to 12.7% in 2019-2021.
Across the world, food insecurity has been on the increase in the last half-decade.
The continuous rise in food inflation globally and in the country is further fueled by the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine crisis, as the region is the top exporter of cereal. All of these have put food security further at risk.
Climate change, conflicts, and the increasing cost of food items have heightened the food insecurity crisis. Food inflation has continued to rise in Nigeria, hitting 23.12% in August 2022.
An international Monetary Fund (IMF) report noted that increasing food insecurity impacts the country’s balance of payments with the increasing cost incurred in importing staple food and fertilisers. This also puts some pressure on fiscal measures to mitigate food insecurity.
The report noted that food insecurity has also increased the country’s dependence on international humanitarian assistance to provide food to vulnerable households.
For Nigeria to pull out of its encroaching food insecurity crisis, the IMF recommended that open trade be maintained at the international level. This will allow the free flow of food from surplus areas into the country. Also, increased food production and distribution by investing in climate-resilient agriculture and provision of primary inputs will positively impact food security in the country.
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