- Four urgent things need to be done in 2025 for Nigeria to feed its citizens better and ensure their food security
Food security in Nigeria is at a critical point and needs urgent attention. Over 26 million people out of an estimated population of 229.5 million faced acute hunger in the period June to August 2024.
Around 84 million Nigerians – 37% of the total population – live below the poverty line. Poverty restricts households’ ability to purchase or produce sufficient nutritious food.
The 2023 Global Hunger Index ranks Nigeria 109th out of 125 countries.
Food prices in the country have risen dramatically over the past three years. At 40.7%, food inflation in Nigeria reached its highest level in the past 25 years. Overall inflation is currently 34.2%, the highest in 28 years. This makes it harder for millions of Nigerians to get adequate nutrition.
Conflict, economic instability, climate change and lack of coordination between parts of the food system have worsened the food security crisis. To achieve food security in Nigeria in 2025, all the dots must be connected.
As an agricultural economist with research in food security, I propose four urgent things Nigeria must do to ensure its citizens have the food they need:
- create a technology-driven innovation platform where food producers and policy makers can find common ground
- revitalise the river basin authorities
- use the comparative advantages that food producers offer
- use more technology in agriculture.
4 things that need urgent attention in 2025
Food security innovation platform: A major reason for food insecurity is that activities of the major stakeholders aren’t coordinated. This includes government (policy makers), researchers, farmers, agro-industries, agro-logistics, and consumers.
I suggest Nigeria employ the potential in an innovation platform at the three levels of governance (local, state and federal). Its core principle is that stakeholders would collaborate to achieve agricultural development goals. This requires a technology-driven platform for learning, negotiation and coordination. Sierra Leone has used this kind of platform.
The platform would connect the relevant players in the food value chain. They would include policy makers, researchers, agricultural extensionists and transporters.
What’s happening now is that researchers in their various laboratories and offices look for solutions in isolation from farmers. Meanwhile, farmers have challenges that researchers are not aware of. The policy makers mostly take a top-down approach that is not beneficial to farmers. Consumers want products that are not available locally, so they opt for imported food items. Achieving food security will be easier if the approach is from bottom to top.
The government must be ready to take responsibility for the innovation platform. Government agencies work in isolation. Their activities are yet to be coordinated.
Revitalisation of river basin development authorities: Nigeria is blessed with abundant water resources distributed across the country. But it’s not managed in a way that encourages farming, particularly in this period of climate change. The 12 river basin authorities were established in 1976 to harness and develop the nation’s water resources. The idea was that they would boost rural development by supplying water for homes, agricultural irrigation, fisheries projects and improved navigation.
But the objectives haven’t been met, primarily because of inadequate government support.
The authorities should be revitalised to ensure water is made available so that farmers can produce crops around dams and along rivers throughout the year.
For instance, Africa’s largest gorge dam, Ikere Gorge Dam, is located in Oyo State, south-west Nigeria. Currently, however, aside from fishing activities, there are no significant farming activities taking place around the dam. This is also true at other dams.
Comparative advantage and cooperatives: Nigeria’s diverse agroecological zones offer comparative advantages in crop and livestock production. Such zones are the rainforest, savanna, derived savanna and mangrove. Each zone is distinct and supports specific crops or livestock. This must be used to greater advantage.
The latest government agricultural policy, the National Agricultural Technology and Innovation Policy, which is centred on special agro-industrial processing zones, must take this into account. Specialising in region-specific agriculture boosts economic growth through surplus production and trade. It also supports food security, and builds resilience against climate change.
This process would be helped if farmers were organised into local cooperatives with incentives after production.
Innovation and technology: Government needs to invest in a range of advanced agriculture tools, like precision farming, drones and data analytics. These enable farmers to optimise resource use, monitor crop health and increase yields. Another example is irrigation technology and value addition. Tools like these can make supply chains more efficient, reduce food waste, and ensure that fresh produce reaches consumers. Innovations in agro-processing allow for value addition, extending shelf life and creating diverse products. Climate-smart technologies have the ability to help farmers adapt to changing conditions.
The above, written by Victoria Tanimonure (Associate Professor, Obafemi Awolowo University), was first published in The Conversation