2.6 million Nigerians at risk of food crisis in 2024: FAO
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has issued a warning that approximately 2.6 million Nigerians in Borno, Sokoto, and Zamfara States, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), may face a food crisis between June and August 2024.
FAO’s country representative, Dominique Kouacou, revealed this during the presentation of the October to November round of the Cadre Harmonise food security and early warning analysis in Abuja on Friday.
Kouacou explained that this situation arises after an exceptionally lean season marked by various challenges, including persistent insecurity issues such as insurgency and banditry.
Additional challenges include natural conflicts, elevated food and agricultural input costs due to high inflation, and severe dry spells in some states immediately following the onset of the rainy season.
The Cadre Harmonise (CH) analysis, conducted in 26 states and the FCT, was carried out by highly skilled professionals and validated by the CH analysis task force over the past two weeks.
Dr. Ernest Umakhihe, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, who addressed the situation, acknowledged the daunting challenges and noted that they were surmountable.
However, he pointed out external factors such as the lingering impact of COVID-19 on the global economy and the Russia-Ukraine conflict affecting food systems and input prices.
Umakhihe also mentioned the removal of petroleum subsidies, which has led to food inflation and increased consumer price indices.
Environmental and human factors such as climate change, insecurity-related displacements, and seasonal flooding continue to be concerns that disrupt food consumption patterns and lead to the use of irreversible coping strategies by a significant portion of Nigeria’s population, he said
The permanent secretary also stated that by the end of 2024, the ministry would work to integrate all 36 resource-based states in the CH analysis.
