Food insecurity in Nigeria: Dangers and the way forward
The issue of food insecurity has become one of the pressing issues affecting Nigeria today. It is no longer limited to a few rural communities or conflict-prone areas; it cuts across regions and income levels, including families once considered stable. Over the past two years, several global agencies have warned over and over that Nigeria is heading toward its worst hunger crisis in a decade, triggered by conflict, rising prices, unpredictable weather, displacement, and declining purchasing power.
This article will paint the real picture of food insecurity in Nigeria today, the dangers it poses for the country’s future, and practical steps that can turn the tide in favor of Nigeria.
The crisis at a glance
According to the latest WFP / FAO analysis, 33.1 million Nigerians are expected to face high levels of food insecurity in the 2025 lean period (June–August). If deteriorating conditions due to conflict, economics, or climate impacts were taken into consideration, that number could get as high as 34.7 million by the 2026 lean season.
In late 2024 (the harvest season), an estimated 25.1 million people were likely experiencing acute food insecurity, indicating that problems were evident even in the so-called off-lean periods. These are not small figures. They’re the households that don’t know where the next meal is coming from, stretched beyond their means, or reliant on emergency food aid.
What drives the crisis
Food insecurity in Nigeria today comes from a toxic combination of factors: economic, environmental, and security-related.
1. Economic hardship and inflation
“Among other drivers of rising hunger,” notes the 2025 Cadre Harmonisé report, “economic hardship” is the most important. Staples are now very expensive because of inflation and skyrocketing food prices. The combination of price increases and devaluation of the naira causes a pinch in the purchasing power of many households.
2. Conflict and insecurity
Northern Nigeria has been a troubled part of the country. In states like Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe, the ongoing insurgency, militancy, banditry, and communal violence disrupt farming, displace communities, and undermine the local food system.
The WFP reports that close to 6 million people in these troubled areas experience acute food insecurity, with some portions of the area falling on the brink of famine-like conditions.
3. Climate shocks and environmental stress
Floods, droughts, and uneven rains have weakened harvests, destroyed farmland, and reduced food production capacity. These climate-induced shocks destabilized rural livelihoods and reduced food availability further.
Inadequate storage and weak supply chains mean that losses from poor harvests usually translate into less food available and rising prices.
4. Humanitarian aid shortfalls
WFP reports that emergency food and nutrition aid has already been cut to about 1.3 million people in northeast Nigeria due to funding gaps. Vulnerable populations, particularly internally displaced persons (IDPs), mothers, and young children, are left at higher risk of hunger and malnutrition, as aid programmes shrink.
Who is most affected?
There is great inequality in how food insecurity affects Nigerians. The most unprotected and vulnerable are those with the least resources.
Populations most at risk include children under the age of 5 and Women who are pregnant or lactating. 2025 projections show that about 800,000 pregnant or breastfeeding women, and more than 5.4 million children, are likely to experience acute malnutrition or wasting. Of these children, close to 1.8 million are expected to suffer severe acute malnutrition (SAM) that necessitates intervention at the nutrition recovery level.
Internally displaced populations (IDPs) and rural people located in conflict-affected areas are the most affected. Displacement changes the farming and income-earning abilities of people. This creates a situation where many households have to subsist on food aid.
The nation weakens in its future human capital, productivity, and strength. This is the result of prolonged inadequate feeding of children or skipping meals frequently. The consequences are stunting, severely weakened immune systems, and diminished cognitive development.
No nation can afford the economic, governance, and stability consequences that come with food insecurity and humanitarian crisis, and this is the reality facing Nigeria.
1. Economic drag and entrenching poverty
With up to 34.7 million people facing food insecurity, a big part of the population is limited in terms of spending power and productivity.
High food prices cause families to allocate a significant portion of their income for basic needs and spare little to invest in education, health, or even investments, perpetuating cycles of poverty while widening inequalities.
2. Health and human capital loss
Malnutrition, particularly among children, leaves behind permanent marks in the long term: reduced cognitive development and poor performance in schools, increased susceptibility to illness, and deprived income at a lifetime level.
For a country whose aim is to build capacity and human capital, widespread malnutrition dulls the long-term development goals.
3. Security risks and insecurity
Hungry and desperate men mostly migrate or become internally displaced in conflict-prone areas and often do not have security or stability in their lives. Hunger, thus, finds itself intertwined with rising violence and insurgency attacks, as the WFP predicts for 2025.
Large parts of society are prone to more radical developments in crime and disintegration into social collapse, where the needs of the majority are not met.
4. Pressure on public services and aid systems
As more people face food insecurity, the demand for social safety nets like health, nutrition programs and cash support soars. But humanitarian assistance diminishes (as WFP faced in 2025), and governments and NGOs are running out of funding.
With recurrent crises, public confidence in the ability of the government to provide basic services is diminished, especially in cases where responses are delayed or ineffective.
What has been done, and where it falls short
Government agencies, UN agencies, and NGOs have initiated programs for relief, nutrition support, and resilience-building. Some signs of progress are evident, but it is terribly grossly inadequate.
- WFP, together with other partners such as UNICEF and FAO, has initiated food distributions, school meals, and nutrition interventions in conflict territories.
- The focus has shifted towards nutritional intervention in children and women and management of severe acute malnutrition.
Major pitfalls remain, however:
- Funding scarcities caused the suspension of aid interventions for over a million people in the northeast by mid-2025.
- Insecurity limits access to these disaster-prone economic areas; humanitarian organizations are thus restrained in their work of reaching out to the most vulnerable.
- Structural issues like poor rural infrastructures, weak agricultural support systems, and climate vulnerabilities have been mostly left untouched.
The way forward: What needs to change in Nigeria
Food insecurity demands an amalgamation of urgently needed responses and longer-term systemic transformations. Priority areas and practical strategies are set forth below.
1. Scale up emergency food and nutrition assistance with adequate funds
Donors, international agencies, and the Nigerian government are to ensure support to deliver aid (food distribution, nutrition assistance programs, WFP programs), to reach vulnerable groups (children, pregnant and lactating women, IDPs), with all of them being adequately funded.
2. Protection and safety nets must be strengthened
Put in place predictable cash-transfer mechanisms, vouchers, school-feeding programs, and targeted support to the poor, especially in at-risk states. Link social protection to nutrition, health, and food security programs.
3. Promote resilient, inclusive agriculture
Investing in smallholder farmers to ensure access to improved seeds, fertilizers, climate-resilient farming, and small-scale irrigation is required. Strengthen extension services and promote agro-ecological approaches to mitigate climate-related risks.
4. Improve infrastructure for storage, transport, and markets
Construct and promote rural access roads, storage facilities (silos and cold storage), and efficient distribution networks. Reducing post-harvest losses in combination with lower transport costs will help stabilize supply and reduce price spikes.
5. Tackle conflict, insecurity, and displacement
There must be a focus on peace-building, protection of farmland and livelihoods by political leadership, security agencies, and local stakeholders, and resolving issues with timely support to displaced populations.
6. Invest in nutrition, health, and education
In light of the high number of children at risk of malnutrition, long-term investment in health and nutrition programs, early childhood development, and education must be part of the national strategy.
7. Transparency in monitoring, data, and accountability
It is imperative to collect data regularly, provide transparent reports, and monitor at the community level the food security status, aid distribution, and impact of interventions. Good and accurate data are the bedrock of targeting assistance where it is most needed.
Conclusion
The increasing food insecurity in Nigeria is not a far-off warning; it is a stark reality for tens of millions at present. Projections show that over 33 million people are at risk of hunger, and the number could soar. The stakes cannot be higher.
For many families, the next few months and years may mean life or death, stability or sinking deeper into hunger and destitution. The fact that this crisis might be avoided still holds. Proper leverage of emergency relief, social protection, agricultural renewal, infrastructure investment, and security stabilization, sustained by honest data and sustained political will, may just be the pivot for Nigeria.
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