The World Bank has ranked Nigeria among the top ten countries globally affected by food inflation, listing it as the fifth most impacted country and the third in Africa, trailing only Malawi and Liberia. The findings are part of the bank’s food security report for September.
The report attributes Nigeria’s deteriorating food security to several factors, including conflict in food-producing regions and environmental challenges related to climate change. It notes that 18 countries are experiencing worsening food security, with Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Yemen seeing over one million additional people facing high levels of food insecurity compared to the previous year.
Haiti is reported as the hardest hit, experiencing a 12% year-on-year increase in food inflation, followed by Malawi, Vietnam, and Liberia. In Nigeria, the number of food-insecure individuals has surged by 28% from August 2023 to September 2024, with nearly 55 million people facing food insecurity during the recent lean season.
The report highlights extreme weather events as a significant contributor to rising food insecurity across West Africa, prompting several nations to declare states of emergency. Flooding has affected approximately 1.6 million hectares of land in Nigeria, including over 342,000 hectares of cropland, impacting nearly 686,000 vulnerable individuals.
The situation is exacerbated by ongoing insecurity in agricultural regions, as highlighted by S.B. Morgan Intelligence, which reports that at least 1,356 farmers have been killed in Nigeria’s northern region between 2020 and 2024. Additionally, Nigeria’s food inflation recently peaked at a 28-year high of 40.87% in June, though it has since seen some moderation. However, renewed threats loom due to increased petrol prices and recent floods affecting the northern and Niger Delta regions.
Earlier this year, the World Bank warned that seven northern states would face severe hunger, with the Food and Agriculture Organization noting that approximately 16% of Nigeria’s population, or 32 million people, are currently facing hunger.
