The issue of food insecurity has become one of the major issues affecting Nigeria today. It is no longer limited to a few rural communities or conflict-affected areas. It cuts across regions and income levels, including families once considered stable. Over the past two years, several international agencies have repeatedly warned that Nigeria is heading for its worst hunger crisis in a decade, fueled by conflict, rising prices, unpredictable weather, homelessness and declining purchasing power.
This article presents the true picture of food insecurity in Nigeria today, the threats it poses to the country’s future, and practical steps that can turn the tide in Nigeria’s favor.
A crisis at a glance
According to the latest WFP/FAO analysis, 33.1 million Nigerians are expected to experience high levels of food insecurity in the lean period (June-August) of 2025. If worsening conditions due to conflict, economics or climate impacts are taken into account, this number could rise to a maximum of 34.7 million by the lean season of 2026.
At the end of 2024 (harvest season), an estimated 25.1 million people were experiencing acute nutrient insecurity, indicating that problems are evident even in so-called off-season periods. These are not small numbers. They are households that don’t know where the next meal is coming from, stretch beyond their means, or rely on emergency food aid.
What drives the crisis?
Food insecurity in Nigeria today comes from a toxic combination of factors: economic, environmental and security related.
1. Economic difficulties and inflation
The 2025 Cadre Harmonis report notes, “Among the other drivers of rising hunger, “economic hardship” is foremost. Staples are now very expensive due to inflation and skyrocketing food prices. The combination of price hikes and the devaluation of the naira is causing a pinch in the purchasing power of many households.
2. Conflict and insecurity
Northern Nigeria has been a troubled part of the country. In states such as Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe, ongoing insurgency, militancy, banditry, and sectarian violence have disrupted farming, displaced communities, and undermined local food systems.
WFP reports that nearly six million people in these troubled areas face severe food insecurity, with parts of the region teetering on the brink of famine-like conditions.
3. Climate shocks and environmental stresses
Floods, droughts, and erratic rainfall have weakened crops, destroyed fields, and reduced food production capacity. Climate shocks have destabilized rural livelihoods and further reduced food availability.
Inadequate storage and weak supply chains mean that losses from poor crops usually translate into less food and higher prices.
4. Lack of humanitarian aid
WFP has reported that emergency food and nutrition assistance has already been cut to about 1.3 million people in northeastern Nigeria due to funding gaps. Vulnerable populations, particularly internally displaced persons (IDPs), mothers and young children are left at greater risk of hunger and malnutrition, as aid programs shrink.
Who is most affected?
There is great disparity in how food insecurity affects Nigeria. The most insecure and vulnerable are those with the least resources.
Most at-risk populations include children under 5 years of age and women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Estimates for 2025 show that nearly 800,000 pregnant or lactating women, and more than 5.4 million children, are likely to be severely malnourished or wasted. Of these children, around 1.8 million suffer from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) requiring intervention at the nutritional recovery level.
Internally displaced populations (IDPs) and rural people in conflict-affected areas are the most affected. Displacement changes people’s ability to farm and earn income. This creates a situation where many households have to seize food aid.
The nation becomes vulnerable to its future human capital, productivity and power. It is the result of prolonged insufficient feeding of children or repeated skipping meals. The results are stunting, a severely weakened immune system, and reduced cognitive development.
No nation can afford the economic, governance and stability consequences that come with food insecurity and humanitarian crisis, and this is the reality facing Nigeria.
1. Economic drag and poverty
With 34.7 million people experiencing food insecurity, a large portion of the population is limited in terms of electricity and productivity.
High food prices cause families to allocate a significant portion of their income to basic needs and save little to invest in education, health, or even investment, perpetuating cycles of poverty while widening inequality.
2. Loss of health and human capital
Malnutrition, especially among children, leaves behind permanent scars in the long term: reduced cognitive development and poor performance in schools, increased susceptibility to disease, and lower lifetime income.
For a country aiming to build capacity and human capital, widespread malnutrition undermines long-term development goals.
3. Security Threats and Vulnerabilities
Hungry and desperate men often migrate or become internally displaced in conflict-affected areas and often lack security or stability in their lives. Hunger, thus, is itself linked to increased violence and insurgency attacks, as WFP predicts by 2025.
Large sections of society suffer from more radical developments in crime and disintegration into social exclusion, where the needs of the majority are not met.
4. Pressure on public services and support systems
As more people experience food insecurity, so does the demand for social safety nets such as health, nutrition programs and cash assistance. But humanitarian aid drops (as WFP faced in 2025), and governments and NGOs are out of funds.
With frequent crises, public confidence in the government’s ability to provide basic services diminishes, especially in cases where the response is delayed or ineffective.
What has been done, and where it falls short
Government agencies, UN agencies, and NGOs have launched programs to provide relief, nutritional support, and resilience building. Some signs of progress are evident, but it is woefully inadequate.
- WFP, together with other partners such as UNICEF and FAO, has launched food distribution, school meals, and nutrition interventions in conflict zones.
- The focus has shifted to nutrition interventions and management of severe acute malnutrition in children and women.
However, significant drawbacks remain:
- A lack of funding has led to the suspension of aid interventions for more than a million people in the Northeast by mid-2025.
- Insecurity limits access to these disaster-hit economic zones. Humanitarian organizations are thus hampered in their work of reaching the most vulnerable.
- Structural issues such as poor rural infrastructure, weak agricultural support systems, and climate risks remain largely untouched.
The Way Forward: What Needs to Change in Nigeria
Food insecurity calls for a combination of immediate responses and long-term systemic changes. Priority areas and operational strategies are set out below.
1. Scale emergency food and nutrition assistance with adequate funding
Donors, international agencies, and the Nigerian government are to ensure support for the delivery of aid (food distribution, nutrition assistance programs, WFP programs), so that they reach vulnerable groups (children, pregnant and lactating women, IDPs), all of which are adequately financed.
2. Protection and safety nets should be strengthened
Predictive cash transfer mechanisms, vouchers, school feeding programs, and targeting the poor, especially in vulnerable states. Link social protection to nutrition, health and food security programmes.
3. Promote resilient, inclusive agriculture
Investments in smallholder farmers are needed to ensure access to improved seeds, fertilizers, climate-resilient farming, and small-scale irrigation. Strengthen extension services and promote agro-ecological approaches to reduce climate-related risks.
4. Improve infrastructure for storage, transport and markets
Build and promote rural access roads, storage facilities (silos and cold storage), and efficient distribution networks. Minimizing post-harvest losses combined with lower transportation costs will help stabilize supply and reduce price increases.
5. To address conflict, insecurity and displacement
Political leadership, security agencies, and local stakeholders must focus on peace-building, farmland protection and economic security, and addressing issues with timely assistance to displaced populations.
6. Invest in nutrition, health and education
In light of the high number of children at risk of malnutrition, long-term investments in health and nutrition programs, early childhood development, and education should be part of national strategies.
7. Transparency in monitoring, data and accountability
It is important to collect data regularly, provide transparent reports, and monitor the status of food security at the community level, the distribution of aid, and the impact of interventions. Good and accurate data is the bedrock of targeting help where it is most needed.
The result
Growing food insecurity in Nigeria is not a distant warning. This is the reality of tens of millions of people right now. Estimates show that more than 33 million people are at risk of hunger, and this number may rise. The stakes couldn’t be higher.
For many families, the next few months and years could mean life or death, stability or a deep dive into hunger and poverty. The reality is that this crisis can be avoided. Adequate leverage of emergency aid, social protection, agricultural renewal, infrastructure investment, and security stability, sustained by honest data and political will, may just be Nigeria’s pivot.