Averting food crisis in Nigeria

Published 08 Nov,2020 via The Nation - A food crisis is imminent in Nigeria as Nigerians continue to face challenges such as floods, climate change effects and insecurity. JULIANA AGBO examines stakeholders’ view on the need to take preventive measures and avert a looming food crisis.

About 9.8 million Nigerians are expected to be in a hunger crisis or worse between November and December this year, as 16 northern states including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), have been identified in the Cadre Harmonise (CH) report on food security and nutrition analysis released on November 5, 2020.

The 16 states include Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba and Yobe States as well as the FCT. It noted that the findings did not include those from

Zamfara State because they were still being finalised.

While it reported that about 13.8 million people will be facing acute food shortage crisis between June and August 2021, it said the number could grow to about 14 million if measures are not taken in time to avert the hunger crisis.

The report shows that more Nigerians in northern States are pushed to acute food shortage crisis mainly due to floods, climate change effects and the ongoing insurgency.

Cadre Harmonise analysis

The Cadre Harmonisé (CH) is a current regional framework aimed to prevent food crisis by quickly identifying affected populations and proffering appropriate measures to improve their food and nutrition security.

The CH analysis results in Nigeria which have become the major yardstick for estimating the areas and population of vulnerable people in needs of humanitarian assistance as presented in the annual Humanitarian Needs Overviews (HNOs) and the Humanitarian Response Plans (HRPs),

provides early warning alert to national and state governments as well as development partners including the humanitarian community on looming food insecurity and nutrition gaps faced in the states and is used to galvanise support towards targeted actions.

However, the tool has provided opportunities for the governments and actors in food security and nutrition to continually monitor and track the progress made in improving food security and nutrition situations, particularly in the northeast that has been burdened by insecurity caused by a prolonged armed insurgency.

The CH analysis led by the Federal Government is facilitated through the National Programme for Food Security (NPFS) with financial and technical support from Food and Agriculture of the United Nations (FAO), the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS), the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), European Union, the French Development Agency and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Others members of the Cadre Harmonise Technical Committee are the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS), Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET), Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Oxfam, Administration for Children & Families (ACF) and Save the Children.

Analysing the need for the CH, FAO Representative in Nigeria and the ECOWAS, Fred Kafeero said the results of the analysis had exposed the need for urgent intervention by the government.

Kafeero said the exercise, which has now been adopted by the Nigeria Food Security stakeholders since 2015 aims at applying the outcome of the analysis in preventing food crisis by identifying the areas affected and the populations as well as proffering appropriate measures towards improved food and nutrition.

The exercise, which has now been adopted by the Nigeria Food Security stakeholders since 2015 aims at applying the outcome of the analysis in preventing food crisis by identifying the areas affected and the populations as well as proffering appropriate measures towards improved food and nutrition

This October/November 2020 CH analysis happens to be different from the previous years, as it took Into consideration the unprecedented impact of the COVID -19 pandemic on the various outcomes of FNS and the inference of the various FNS contributing factors.

“Despite the relaxation of the COVlD-19 lockdown measures, several households are still currently experiencing difficulties in accessing their basic food and nonfood needs due to disrupted livelihoods. This has resulted in reduced HHs opportunities for income and food and nutrition security”, he stated.

Regional analysis

The report shows that the most affected part of the country is the northeast region covering the Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states that are affected by the armed insurgency leaving millions of people without food and other livelihood means. The three States are classified to be in crisis and emergency phases of acute food and nutrition analysis.

It also reported that between now and December this year, it is only Adamawa State which has completely scored better results of being under pressure but without renewed concerted efforts, much of it will slide into a food security crisis.

Speaking on the report, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Mua’zu Abdulkadir, said that the analysis is not just an early warning alert but an inevitable decision-making tool to guide points of action for ensuring food security and nutrition situation across all the States involved.

Dr Abdulkadir said the October 2020 CH analysis came at a time when households in the country were faced with economic stress due to lockdown and restrictive measures put in place to curb the spread of Covid-19 in Nigeria.

“The results, therefore, are expected to reveal the number of those affected by the food and nutrition challenges for the period covered that is October to December 2020 and the projected June to August 2021,” he said.

Abdullahi Aliyu, a farmer based in Kano, said farmers should be encouraged and supported with financial resources, inputs and necessary implement to increase productivity.

While reiterating the need for the federal government to prioritise mechanised farming and train farmers subsequently on the use of mechanised equipment, he said urgent action should be taken to avert pervasive hunger.

Citing the need to take urgent action, stakeholders called on decision-makers develop and implement effective strategies for institutionalising the CH process through its inclusion in annual budget lines at the State and federal levels.

“The budget should include providing funds to the relevant structures for conducting food and nutrition security assessments, including market monitoring, to enable credible and reliable data for the CH analysis and other uses.

While noting that the report lays a foundation for planning effective interventions to prevent further deterioration of the food and nutrition situation in those vulnerable areas, the stakeholders called on the governments to intensify effort to improve the security situation, particularly in inaccessible and partially accessible areas, to provide an opportunity for reaching out to the vulnerable population for humanitarian assistance.

Also emphasising on the need to further mitigate the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic and flood on food and nutrition security, it was recommended that stakeholders particularly, the government should sustain the implementation of relief measures among the populace.

“The efforts should consider the vulnerable population currently needing assistance to assist them with raw food items and farm production inputs.

“There is a need to sustain the current intensive public enlightenment and enforcement of the standard preventive and management measures and protocols set by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to mitigate further the active community spread of the country’s COVID-19 pandemic.”

The stakeholders while calling on the CH Coordinating agencies to develop and implement practical actions to further communicate the outcome of the CH analysis at various levels of government to trigger and guide appropriate responses for addressing food and nutrition challenges, said partners should sustain the joint support for Food and Nutrition Security assessments’ timely conduct to ensure data provision for the CH analysis, particularly in inaccessible areas within the northeast states and other states or communities experiencing banditry and form of security challenges.

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