In a stark reminder of Nigeria’s deepening food crisis, the latest State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2024 report has revealed that approximately 172 million Nigerians are unable to afford a healthy diet. This harrowing statistic, highlighted by a report from FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP, and WHO, has once again, underlined the severity of food insecurity and malnutrition plaguing the nation.
The report, titled “Financing to End Hunger, Food Insecurity and Malnutrition in All Its Forms,” paints a grim picture of a nation struggling to feed its populace. As of 2022, about 78.7% of Nigerians could not afford a healthy diet. The number of people unable to afford nutritious food has been steadily rising since 2017. Back then, 143.8 million Nigerians were affected, a figure that has grown year by year, reaching 172 million in 2022.
To afford a healthy diet in Nigeria, a person would need around $3.83 per day in 2022, translating to approximately N1,767.55 based on the exchange rate of N461.5/$1 at the end of December 2022. With the naira now trading at N1,617.08/$, the cost of a nutritious meal has soared, making it even more unattainable for millions.
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“Nigeria has the fifth highest cost of a healthy diet in the West African sub-region, behind Mauritania ($4.86 per day), Ghana ($4.29 per day), Cabo Verde ($4.07 per day) and the Niger Republic ($3.96),” the report noted.
Moreover, the National Bureau of Statistics and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition’s latest “Cost of Healthy Diet” report showed that the national average cost of a healthy diet rose to N1,241 per adult per day in June 2024 from N858 in January 2024. The report attributes this increase primarily to the rising costs of vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, and starchy staples.
#EndHunger Protests: A Nation’s Cry For Help Amid Tool Little Government Measures
Against this backdrop, the country is witnessing widespread protests under the #EndHunger movement. Nigerians are taking to the streets, demanding immediate action to combat hunger and malnutrition. Unfortunately, the government’s response is seen as lackluster and inadequate.
The Federal Government’s reaction to the crisis has been to distribute rice and disburse funds to state governments. For instance, the federal government, in the wake of the protests, announced the disbursement of N570 billion to states, in addition to truckloads of rice.
However, these measures have proven insufficient in addressing the root causes of food insecurity. The temporary relief provided by rice distribution and cash handouts fails to offer a sustainable solution to the ongoing hunger crisis.
In early July, the government announced a 150-day duty-free import window for food items imported through land and sea borders. This policy is intended to reduce the demand for foreign exchange by food importers and ease the food shortage. While this initiative might offer some relief, it is far from being a comprehensive solution to the systemic issues driving food insecurity, among them – insecurity.
The 2024 edition of the Global Report on Food Crises, which provides analysis and evidence on acute food insecurity, identified Nigeria as one of the 19 countries experiencing protracted major food crises over the past eight years. Alongside countries like Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, the Syrian Arab Republic, and Yemen, Nigeria consistently ranks among the top ten countries with the highest populations facing acute food insecurity.
In 2023, nearly 282 million people in 59 food-crisis countries faced high levels of acute food insecurity, with Nigeria being one of the top five most affected.
“These 19 countries have been in a major food crisis for the past eight years, and six countries (Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen) have consistently ranked among the top ten in terms of the population affected, with 108 million people facing acute food insecurity,” the report noted.
The report calls for significant improvements in the execution and quality of budget spending on food security. It emphasizes that even if more financing becomes available, necessary changes and reforms must be implemented to ensure higher execution and quality of spending.
“Even if more financing for food security and nutrition becomes available, changes and reforms are necessary to guarantee higher execution and quality of spending. The larger the required budget reallocations (e.g. Burkina Faso and Nigeria), the further away the country is from the optimal budget allocation. Optimal budget reallocations, irrespective of their size in each country, can significantly increase the value of public money,” the report added.
A Call for Sustainable Solutions
To tackle the hunger crisis, the government has been advised to prioritize food security and nutrition by implementing policies that address the root causes of hunger and malnutrition. This includes investing in agriculture, improving infrastructure, and ensuring that social safety nets are in place to protect the most vulnerable populations.
The road to eradicating hunger and malnutrition in Nigeria is long and fraught with challenges. However, experts believe that with the right policies and a committed effort from the government and all stakeholders, it is possible to achieve food security and ensure that every Nigerian has access to a healthy diet.
We believe in half bread is better than none, and that is what we have been hustling for; the only problem is that the half has reduced to quarter, so we need to update our maxim. We talk a lot, then yammer that government should take action, afterwards – nothing changes, and we start talking again. This is not how serious people behave, so it has been historically proven that Nigerians are not serious people.
Anytime you want to unpack a lie, put numbers on it. What quantity of rice is consumed in Nigeria annually? How many hectares of land at the current yield will deliver that? If it’s 5 million hectares, it means that 10 million hectares will be cultivated: half of it for consumption, the other half for security. Do we have the lands? If yes, do we have the seeds? If yes, what manpower would be needed, do we have them? If yes, what machineries are needed, are they available? If yes, can we secure the farms once the seeds are planted? Yes? Good.
What will it take in trucks, road and other transportation infrastructures to move the produce from farms to processing centres and subsequently to markets across the country? The storage facilities to hold the other half, are they available?
This is just for rice. Funny creatures.