According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, as many as 26.5 million Nigerians will endure famine by 2024.
According to the international body, states including as Borno, Sokoto, Zamfara, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are more vulnerable to food insecurity.
Dominique Kouacou, the FAO national representative, revealed this on Friday during the presentation of the Cadre Harmonisé food security and early warning analysis for the October to November period in Abuja.
The Cadre Harmonisé examination was carried out in 26 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to analyze food security and provide estimates for the future.
According to Kouacou, the present cycle is distinguished by an unusual lean season, which is influenced by a number of factors, including continuous security issues such as insurgency and banditry.
He also recognized additional obstacles, including as natural resource conflicts, high inflation-driven food and agricultural input prices, and major dry spells in some areas shortly after rains begin.
For Ernest Umakhihe, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, the analysis had been completed and authorized over the previous two weeks by a team of highly trained specialists from the CH analytical task group.
He stated that the obstacles were serious but manageable, and that many reasons appeared to be undermining the ministry’s efforts.
“Notable among them are the lingering negative impact of COVID-19 on the global economy and the Russia-Ukraine war which is currently disrupting the food systems and spiking up input prices and food prices,” he said.
He added, “The removal of petroleum subsidy has further heightened this pressure, resulting in food inflation and increases in consumer price index.”
These disruptions, according to Umakhihe, had an impact on food consumption habits, leading to a reliance on irreversible coping techniques among the country’s enormous population.
He also stated that by the end of 2024, the Cadre Harmonisé (CH) analysis would be integrated into all 36 states.
