Food Insecurity: Nigeria Still Of High Concern-World Bank

Nigeria has retained its position as one of the world’s hot-spots of global food insecurity.

The World Bank made the disclosure while raising the alarm over government’s capacity to effectively handle food security.

The report is contained on the list of the global body’s latest food security updates on its website, listed other countries as Afghanistan, Somalia, South Sudan, Yemen, Burkina Faso and Haiti. 

According to the release, food security among the listed countries is of very high concern between June and November 2023, with Haiti and Burkina Faso making their way into the globe’s high food inflation club. 

Before now, the global financial organization listed Yobe and Borno as two of Nigeria’s Northern states with high possibility of food insecurity during the period under review.

It also indicated that parts of Kaduna, Katsina, sokoto and zamfara are also on the watch list. It however, identified organized crime, armed conflicts, etc, as some of the reasons responsible for the challenge. 

“In many of these countries, organized violence and armed conflict continue to be key drivers of acute food insecurity. Economic risks also factor into food insecurity trends, with the global economy expected to slow in 2023 amid monetary tightening in advanced economies, persistently high international commodity prices, and an overall reduction in donor support to offset global hunger.

“Weather extremes remain significant drivers of food insecurity in some countries and regions,” the latest report highlights, adding that 81.4 per cent of lower-middle-income countries, where Nigeria belongs, are still contending with above five per cent food inflation rate,” the statement read in part.

Though May’s inflation rate in Nigeria is yet to be released, information on April's Consumer Price Index, CPI, as released by the Bureau of Statistics, indicate that the country’s deficit rate remains at over 24%.

CPI is therefore, expected to remain high given the impact of subsidy removal on the price of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, which rose by over 200%.

The rise saw a spiraling effects on transportation, among others.