The evolving state of food security in Nigeria amidst the COVID-19 pandemic – A review

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a variety of challenges to Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, especially in the area of health protection, food security, and availability. Food security is a concept that encompasses the availability and accessibility of safe nutritious foods to everyone and is dependent on the maintenance of the food supply chain. The food security status of Nigeria, a developing country that previously was problematic, has been worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic through several fronts including the disruption of the food supply chain, reduced agricultural output as a result of the global lockdown, and lack of access to agricultural facilities and products, such as fertilisers, manpower, and restrictive policies. These factors have generally resulted in food scarcity and price inflations, which increasingly threaten the political and economic stability of households within the country, leading to an insecure future for the people. This review examines how the food security status of households in Nigeria has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of the lockdown and changing business environment on farmers’ food production operations and marketing activities. It further evaluates the pandemics impacts on agro-industrial projects and governments’ efforts in making the agriculture sector more sustainable. Strategies to improve local food production, accessibility and availability, through interventions, including financial incentives/grants to farmers, the revival of moribund agricultural agencies, and encouraging local production and processing of foods are explored.

Keywords

• food security
• agricultural sector
• covid-19
• nigeria
• malnutrition
• food availability