New report shows 33.1m Nigerians will face food crisis in 2025

The Cadre Harmonisé (CH) Report, released on Friday, has shown that at least 33.1 million people in 26 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will face a food crisis in 2025.

The report was based on a research conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP), Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, and other partners.

The affected states are Sokoto, Zamfara, Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Gombe, Taraba, Katsina, Jigawa, Kano, Bauchi, Plateau, Kaduna, Kebbi, Niger and Benue.

Others are Cross River, Enugu, Edo, Abia, Kogi, Nasarawa, Kwara, Ogun, Lagos, Rivers, and the FCT.

The report predicted that residents of the affected states would face food and nutrition crisis between June and August 2025.

The figure includes 514,474 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Borno, Sokoto, and Zamfara States.

The report also revealed that about 25 million people across the 26 states and the FCT are currently experiencing food crises.

The FAO Country Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Kouacou Koffy, called for urgent attention and a unified approach to address food and nutrition security in the country.

He said: “With the concerted efforts of the government, CH stakeholders, and the international community, we can move closer to alleviating hunger and reducing suffering for Nigeria’s most vulnerable populations.

“We are facing unprecedented challenges affecting livelihoods and food and nutrition security globally, regionally, and nationally.”

Koffy added that Nigeria is experiencing a combination of shocks, including economic factors affecting the prices of staple crops and agricultural commodities, climate-related events such as floods and droughts, and insecurity.

“CH analysis is the most reliable and widely accepted early warning tool for humanitarian programming, food security, and livelihood response targeting, as well as for prioritising development programmes,” he stated.