…FCT, Lagos, Zamfara, Yobe , Rivers , Edo, Benue, Abia and others will be most affected
By Aliyu Galadima
United Nations ,U.N, projects an increase of 7 million hungry people in Nigeria by August 2025.
Nigeria is confronting one of its most severe hunger crises, with 33 million people projected to experience food insecurity in 2025—an increase of 7 million compared to this year—driven by economic hardship, according to a joint report from the government and the United Nations released on Friday.
The biannual analysis conducted across 26 states and the federal capital estimates that 33.1 million people will face food insecurity by August next year.
The report states, “Several factors are driving this trend, but most prominently are economic hardship coupled with record high inflation, a record rise in food prices and record high transportation costs”.
The affected states include Sokoto, Zamfara, Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Gombe, Taraba, Katsina, Jigawa, Kano, Bauchi, Plateau, Kaduna, Kebbi, Niger, and Benue, along with Cross River, Enugu, Edo, Abia, Kogi, Nasarawa, Kwara, Ogun, Lagos, Rivers, and the FCT.
The report revealed that approximately 25 million people across the 26 states and the FCT are currently experiencing food crises with the 2025 forecast projecting that 514,474 Internally Displaced Persons in Borno, Sokoto, and Zamfara would be affected.
The food insecurity situation in Nigeria is compounded by a series of factors including high inflation, insecurity, especially in the Northern parts of the country as well as recent flooding and effects of adverse and unstable weather conditions.
Inflation in Nigeria rose to a 28-year high of 34.19% in June this year with food inflation crossing 40% marking the worst cost of living crisis Nigerians have faced in almost three decades.
The surge in food prices across the country was exacerbated by the twin reforms of President Tinubu upon inauguration into office which led to a spike in input prices for major agricultural activities and energy and transportation costs.
Insecurity has also severely impacted agricultural activities in the region leading to an explosion in IDP camps and abandonment of farms by people in displaced communities.
Across the Northern parts of the country- terrorists like Boko Haram, and different groups of bandits kidnap and extort farmers- and such encounters have been fatal in recent times.
A report by SB Morgan Intelligence revealed that around 1,356 farmers were killed in one year while another similar report by the same firm reported that Nigerians paid around N1.04 billion in one year to kidnappers mirroring the worsening security levels in the country.
Flooding and insecurity in northern states have continued to impact agriculture, pushing food prices beyond the reach of many families.
Last month’s floods devastated an estimated 1.6 million hectares of crops, primarily in northern food basket states, potentially resulting in a combined production loss of 1.1 million tonnes for maize, sorghum, and rice, the report noted.
In response, the federal government announced N3 billion in support to the 36 states of the federation and FCT to assuage the impact of the disaster.
The FAO Country Representative to Nigeria and the Economic Community Of West African States ,ECOWAS, Kouacou Koffy, called for urgent attention and a unified approach to address food and nutrition security in the country.
“With the concerted efforts of the government, CH stakeholders, and the international community, we can move closer to alleviating hunger and reducing suffering for Nigeria’s most vulnerable populations.
“We are facing unprecedented challenges affecting livelihoods and food and nutrition security globally, regionally, and nationally”.
Koffy noted that Nigeria is facing a combination of shocks, including economic factors driving up staple crop and agricultural commodity prices, climate-related events such as floods and droughts, and insecurity.
He stated, “CH analysis is the most reliable and widely accepted early warning tool for humanitarian programming, food security, and livelihood response targeting, as well as for prioritising development programmes.”
CH Focal Person for the National Programme on Food Security, Balama Dauda, identified key drivers of the food crisis as high prices of foodstuffs and non-food items, flooding, and insecurity.
The Permanent Secretary, FMAFS Temitope Fashedemi, pledged the government’s commitment to applying the report’s findings to guide food and nutrition security programmes across states.
