The World Bank predicts that persistent insecurity, armed conflict, and declining livelihoods will continue to impact local government areas in Borno, Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto, Yobe, and Zamfara states in Nigeria until May 2024.
The PUNCH revealed that this came after it was revealed that the country’s access to agricultural inputs is being hampered by bad macroeconomic conditions.
This is expected to have an impact on the country’s cereal production. This was reported by the World Bank in its most recent ‘Food Security Update.’
Cereal production in West and Central Africa is predicted to be 76.5 million tons in 2023/24, a 2% decline from the previous season but a 3% increase from the average for the last five years.
This drop is projected to be amplified by Chad, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria.
“Projections indicate a decrease in production from last year in Chad, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria,” according to the Bretton Woods institute.
This drop is ascribed to dry periods throughout the growing season and insecurity in Chad, Mali, and Niger, as well as bad macroeconomic conditions in Nigeria that have hampered access to agricultural supplies.”
While the majority of the sub-region’s areas will be marginally food insecure (from November to May 2024), certain areas are stressed and others are in crisis.
Over the same period (November to May 2024), Crisis conditions, primarily caused by persistent insecurity and armed conflict, as well as deteriorating livelihoods, are projected to affect the following regions:
“Nigeria: Local government areas in Borno, Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto, Yobe, Zamfara states, and the far north of Adamawa state.
Other countries affected include Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, and Niger.
According to the World Bank’s most recent update, several low- and middle-income countries experienced substantial inflation between August and November.
“Information from the latest month between August and November 2023 for which food price inflation data are available shows high inflation in many low- and middle-income countries, with inflation higher than 5% in 61.9 percent of low-income countries, 76.1 percent of lower-middle-income countries (3.9 percentage-point decrease), 50.0 percent of upper-middle-income countries, and 57.4 percent of middle-income countries.
The most affected countries are in Africa, North America, Latin America, South Asia, Europe, and Central Asia, according to the report. It went on to say that in 167 nations, food price inflation has surpassed general inflation by 74% in real terms.
Nigeria’s headline inflation rate increased to 28.20 per cent in November, while food inflation soared to 32.84 per cent.
