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Food Insecurity in Africa in Terms of Causes, Effects and Solutions: A Case Study
of Nigeria

Conference Paper · September 2015

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Wasiu Olayinka Fawole Eda Ilbasmis

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 A paper presentation at the 2nd International Conference on Sustainable Agriculture and Environment
held at the Selcuk University and Bahri Dagdas International Agricultural Research
Institute Campus in the City of Konya, Turkey between
September 30 and October 3, 2015.

FOOD INSECURITY IN AFRICA IN TERMS OF CAUSES, EFFECTS AND SOLUTIONS: A

CASE STUDY OF NIGERIA.
*
W.O. Fawole, *E. Ilbasmis and *B. Ozkan,
*
Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Akdeniz University,
07058, Dumlupınar Bulvarı, Antalya, Turkey
Presenting Author e-mail: wasiufawole@gmail.com

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to examine the increasing food insecurity in Nigeria and the implications on the stability
of the country in particular and Africa in general. This study tries to x-ray the food insecurity in Nigeria and
Africa in general. This is important in order to alert the stakeholders in the agricultural sector on the
implications of the rising food insecurity in the country in recent years. In the course of the study, secondary
data sourced from the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations was used by examining
the trend of food insecurity from 1990 to 2014.

The findings of this study indicate that key food security indicators used for the study such as prevalence of
undernourishment, food inadequacy and numbers of undernourished people are on the increase in Nigeria from
the year 2009 to 2014 according to the latest survey. The implication of this is that if the trend is not halted as
quickly as possible it is a time bomb that may pose grave security risks and danger to the country and African
sub-region as a whole being the most populous black nation. In order to prevent this, the immediate causes of
the rising food insecurity as pointed out in the study must be identified while appropriate measures such as
consistent policy framework for agriculture, provision of infrastructures, population control through birth
control, provision of storage facilities and abolition of trade barriers among others are suggested to solve the
food security challenges in Nigeria and by extension other African countries.
Keywords: Food Insecurity, Prevalence of undernourishment, Africa, Nigeria.

1.0 Introduction
Food is one of the most important items in the world as it is critical to human survival together with clothing and
shelter. These three items are usually classified as the man’s basic needs. Food security in Africa has come
under extremely threats due to some factors some of which are natural while some are artificial depending on
the circumstances and the countries involved. A food-secure world is one where all people have access to safe,
nutritious and affordable food that provides the foundation for active and healthy lives.

1.1 Food Security

The FAO defines food security as: “When all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to
sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy
life.” Nearly one billion people are undernourished, hungry and living without adequate daily calories (PAI,
2015).

Food security affects more than human health and welfare – it also contributes to economic and political
stability as it is often noticed that most countries of the world where there is political instability are always
associated with food insecure territories, the food insecurity in such countries might have been as a result of
political instability or the political instability was as a result of food insecurity. One often led to the other but

[1]
they go hand in hand in the affected areas. Food security has three aspects; food availability, food access and
food adequacy.

1.2 Food Insecurity

Food insecurity exists when people lack sustainable physical or economic access to enough safe, nutritious, and
socially acceptable food for a healthy and productive life. Food insecurity may be chronic, seasonal, or
temporary. Food insecurity and malnutrition result in catastrophic amounts of human suffering. The World
Health Organization estimates that approximately 60 percent of all childhood deaths in the developing world are
associated with chronic hunger and malnutrition. In developing countries, persistent malnutrition leaves children
weak, vulnerable, and less able to fight such common childhood illnesses as diarrhea, acute respiratory
infections, malaria, and measles.

The United Nations estimates that about 805 million people – approximately one in eight – are undernourished
as of 2014. The majority of these people live in developing countries, where more than 14 percent of the people
are unable to meet their dietary energy requirements. Progress has been made in southern Asia, northern Africa
and most countries of eastern and southeastern Asia, as well as in Latin America. Feeding this growing global
population in the years to come will require producing more food and distributing it in a manner that reaches
more people (Cargill, 2014).

The root cause of food insecurity in developing countries is the inability of people to gain access to food due to
poverty. While the rest of the world has made significant progress towards poverty alleviation, Africa, in
particular Sub-Saharan Africa continues to lag behind. Projections show that there will be an increase in this
tendency unless preventive measures are taken. Food security on the continent has worsened since 1970 and the
proportion of the malnourished population has remained within the 33 to 35 percent range in Sub-Saharan
Africa. The prevalence of malnutrition within the continent varies by region. It is lowest in Northern Africa with
4 percent and highest in Central Africa with 40 percent. (Angela, 2006).

1.3 Categories of Food Insecurity

There are three main categories of food insecurity as classified by the Food and Agricultural Organization
(FAO) of the United Nations.
1.3.1 Acute: Sever hunger and malnutrition to the point that lives are threatened immediately (e.g. famine),
1.3.2 Occasional: When food insecurity occurs due to a specific temporary circumstance,
1.3.3 Chronic: Ability to meet food needs is consistently or permanently under threat.

2.0 Material and Method

This study was carried out using Nigeria as a case study being the most populous country in the African
continent with estimated 178 million people as of 2014 (Worldometers, 2014) and as such the country is
more vulnerable to food insecurity considering the pressure on the available resources needed to ensure
adequate and sustainable food supply to the populace. The study made use of mostly secondary data
sourced from Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and other past survey works that have been
carried out on similar topics. The key food security indicators such as prevalence of undernourishment,
food inadequacy and numbers of undernourished people in Nigeria from the year 2009 to 2014
according to the latest FAO survey were used for the study and their respective trend were observed to
give the appropriate judgment as to the food security status of Nigeria which is of great concern to the
stakeholders in recent time.

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3.0 Results and Discussions
3.1 State of Food Insecurity in Nigeria, Sub-Saharan Africa and the World At Large
Table 1 reveals that the latest estimates indicate that 805 million people – about one in nine of the
world’s population – were chronically undernourished in 2012–14, with insufficient food for an active
and healthy life. This number represents a decline of more than 100 million people over the last decade
and of 209 million since 1990–92. The vast majority of hungry people live in developing regions, which
saw 42 percent reduction in the prevalence of undernourished people between 1990–92 and 2012–14,
despite this progress, about one in eight people, or 13.5 percent of the overall population, remain
chronically undernourished in these regions, down from 23.4 percent in 1990–92. The MDG 1c hunger
target – of halving, by 2015, the proportion of undernourished people in the developing world – is
within reach, but considerable efforts are immediately needed, particularly in countries where progress
has stalled. Despite overall progress, large differences remain across developing regions. Eastern and
South-Eastern Asia have already achieved the MDG hunger target. The same is true of Latin America
and the Caribbean, while the Caucasus and Central Asia are on track to reach MDG 1c by 2015. Latin
America and the Caribbean are also on track to reach the more ambitious WFS goal. By contrast, sub-
Saharan Africa and Southern and Western Asia have registered insufficient progress to reach the MDG
target. Sub-Saharan Africa has become home to more than a quarter of the world’s undernourished
people, owing to an increase of 38 million in the number of hungry people since 1990–92 (SOFI, 2014).

In the same vein, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) as depicted in Table 2, the
prevalence of undernourishment, food security and the number of undernourished people have been on
increase in Nigeria since 2009 due to the enumerated causes as itemized below in Nigeria though with
the current trend as depicted in this paper, Nigeria still remains one of the few countries with lowest
value in terms of prevalence of undernourishment, food insecurity and the number of undernourished
people in the sub-Saharan Africa thus one of the most food secured countries in the region. However,
the current trend whereby these indicators of food insecurity keep on rising is worrisome and requires
the immediate attention of the concerned authorities through the suggested solutions as listed
subsequently in this paper.

Table 1: Changing Distribution of hunger in the World: Number and Shares by Region
(1990-92 & 2012-14)
Number Regional Share
Regions (Millions) (%)
1990-92 2012-14 1990-92 2012-14
A Developed Regions 20 15 2.0 1.8
B Southern Asia 292 276 28.8 34.3
C Sub-Saharan Africa 176 214 17.3 26.6
D Eastern Asia 295 161 29.1 20.0
E South Eastern Asia 138 64 13.6 7.9
F Latin America &Caribbean 69 37 6.8 4.6
G Western Asia 8 19 0.8 2.3
H Northern Africa 6 13 0.6 1.6
I Caucasus &Central Asia 10 6 0.9 0.7
J Oceania 1 1 0.1 0.2
Total 1015 805 100 100
Source: FAOSTAT, 2014.

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Figure 1: Prevalence of undernourishment and food security in Nigeria (1990–2014)

80.0
70.0
60.0 No of people
undernourished
50.0
(millions)
40.0
Prevalence of food
30.0 insecurity (%)

20.0
Prevalence of
10.0 undernourisment (%)
0.0
1990-92
1992-94
1994-96
1996-98
1998-00
2000-02
2002-04
2004-06
2006-08
2008-10
2010-12
2012-14
Source: FAOSTAT, 2014

Table 2: Distribution of prevalence of undernourishment, food security and number of

undernourished people in Nigeria between 2009 and 2014

Distribution 2009-11 2010-12 2011-13 2012-14

Prevalence of 5.5 5.7 6.0 6.4
Undernourishment
Prevalence of Food 9.7 9.9 10.4 11.0
Insecurity
Number of 8.9 9.4 10.2 11.2
Undernourished people
Source: FAOSTAT, 2014

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 Figure 2: Graphical representation of prevalence of undernourishment, food security and
number of undernourished people in Nigeria between 2009 and 2014.

12

10
Prevalence of
Undernourishment
8

Prevalence of Food
6
Security

4
Number of
Undernourished
2 people

0
2009-11
Source: FAOSTAT, 2010-12
2014. 2011-13 2012-14

3.2 Causes of Food Insecurity

There are many causes of food insecurity in Africa. This presentation will limit the scope to that of
Nigeria as presented in the above where it has been discovered that the food insecurity in on the rise
since 2009 in the country which will give a template to the other African countries due to the fact that
countries in Africa face similar challenges but only differ in magnitude. Some of the popular and
common causes are itemized below:

3.2.1 War and Political Instability

Of recent, the greatest threat to food security in Nigeria comes from the insurgency. As it is generally
known that like other countries of the world, Nigeria is passing through one of her greatest challenges
since independence from Britain in 1960. Of the six geo-political zones in Nigeria, the North East which
is one of the critical zones that do not only provide the staple foods like grains, wheat and others but that
is equally responsible for the provision of greater percentage of dairy products and animal protein in
form of meat is currently under siege by insurgents. This has disrupted the agricultural activities in the
areas while businesses worth millions of US Dollars have equally being halted. With this, the food
security of the area is not only affected but almost every part of the country thus resulting to upward
rising in the prices of food commodities in Nigeria. More than one million people have been displaced
both internally and externally with more than ten thousand deaths. The remaining people in the affected
areas are unable to continue their farming activities in the areas which had resulted in the alteration in
the agricultural value chain in the country thereby resulting in reduction of food production. The
problems started in 2009 and got escalated in the year 2014.

3.2.2 Urbanization
Like other countries of the world, increasing rural-urban migration due to urbanization play key roles in
the emerging food insecurity in Nigeria. According to Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), by
year 2050, 70 percent of the world population is expected to be living in cities. By this, the agricultural
production will be disrupted thereby increasing the food insecurity.

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3.2.3 Population Growth
This is another factor responsible for food insecurity in Nigeria. Currently, Nigeria is the 6 th populous
country in the world with the estimated population of about 178 million people with annual growth rate
of 3 percent. This has increased the demand for food products just like other countries of the world.
With this glaring increase in the population, there is no commensurable increase in the agricultural
production. According to the United Nations, Nigeria is expected to become third most populous
country in the world by 2050 overtaking America (The Guardian, June 13, 2013).

3.2.4 Poor Agricultural Sector Development

This is another problem that poses great threat to food security in Nigeria and Africa as whole. Most
African countries including Nigeria do not have sustainable Agricultural policy that will enhance food
security in the long run. This is so because in Nigeria and majority of African countries as a whole until
recently do not have stable leadership thereby resulting to policy somersault. Nigeria for example has
not been on stable political leadership until 1999 when the country returned to full democracy devoid of
military intervention. This has led to inconsistencies in policies that could have placed the country on a
stable track that could have ensured that there is uninterrupted food supply. However, the opposite is the
case as successive governments have engaged in different agricultural policies that have led to
cancellation of the existing ones even when the extant ones proved prosperous and sustainable. Some
government policies interfere with markets, create standards that inhibit trade and remove price signals
to farmers. Export restrictions and trading bans isolate local markets and give farmers little incentive to
expand production for the next season, limiting the potential supply response to soaring prices.

3.2.5 Climate Change

Climate Change is another reason why there is food shortage in Africa. It has changed the productivity
pattern. The rain and water is less predictable now than before. The rain comes either too late or too
early or for a shorter period. Farmers are confused and do not know when to cultivate their grains and
other vegetables. Some years, the rain comes too early and when they plant the grains, the rain stops and
the grains rot under the ground.

3.3 Effects of Food Insecurity

In developing countries, persistent malnutrition leaves children weak, vulnerable, and less able to fight
such common childhood illnesses as diarrhea, acute respiratory infections, malaria, and measles.
Adolescents and adults also suffer adverse consequences of food insecurity and malnutrition.
Malnutrition can lead to decreased energy levels, delayed maturation, growth failure, impaired cognitive
ability, diminished capacity to learn, decreased ability to resist infections and illnesses, shortened life
expectancy, increased maternal mortality, and low birth weight.

Food insecurity may also result to political instability just as food-insecure individuals may manifest
feelings of alienation, powerlessness, stress, and anxiety, and they may experience reduced productivity,
reduced work and school performance, and reduced income earnings. Household dynamics may become
disrupted because of a preoccupation with obtaining food, which may lead to anger, pessimism, and
irritation among other vices.

3.4 Suggested Solutions to the Problems of Food Insecurity

Researchers and other stakeholders have consistently worked on the way forward for the lingering food
crisis in Africa sub-region including Nigeria. In order to mitigate the effects of food insecurity on the
people there should be proactive actions on the side of the leaders with a view to protecting their people
from starving to death as we are currently witnessing in some African countries including Nigeria. To

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 achieve this among other things, this paper will like to suggest these few things among other numerous
ways of reducing the incidence food insecurity in Nigeria and other African countries;

3.4.1 Consistent Policy Framework

First and foremost, the leaders must adhere strictly to unique agricultural policy that will be subjected to
periodic review by experts concerned instead of the current policy somersault as we are currently
witnessing. Once this is achieved, the successive governments will be able to pursue the food security
with the desired vigour.

3.4.2 Provision of Infrastructures

Provision of social amenities such as roads, portable water, electricity, etc. should be provided to the
rural dwellers to prevent or reduce rural-urban migration as this will ensure there is adequate labour for
agricultural activities in the rural areas thereby increasing food productivities that will not only
guarantee food security but will equally provide employment opportunities to the growing population in
a way that it will reduce the pressure in the urban centers. Under this, the government should also
encourage mechanized farming as a way of reducing the incidence of food insecurity as all over the
world now agriculture is a serious business enterprise and the world has moved beyond the era of
subsistence farming whereby agriculture is seen as feeding the immediate family with little or nothing
for income drive. Modern agriculture is not only feeding the family but the world and is generating
millions of employment and veritable source of income to both the farmers and source of foreign
exchange to many countries of the world.

3.4.3 Population Control

Just like other African countries where poverty is rampant, population is majorly uncontrolled as the
methods of achieving this menace such as contraceptives is still unpopular especially in the rural areas
thereby resulting to population surge among the people thus encouraging undue competition for
insufficient food. Government and other development partners such as world bank, UNICEF, FAO,
WFP and others should rise up to assist the government in educating people on birth control so that
there can be food security guaranty.

3.4.4 Provision of Storage Facilities

To avoid waste that usually accompany harvest season in Nigeria, government should do everything
possible to ensure there is adequate provision of processing and storage facilities for Agricultural
products so that there will be all year round food security and in turn boost the income level of farmers
thereby reducing poverty which is the ultimate goal of the Nigerian government just like any other
African government. The current situation in Nigerian has become so worrisome to the extent that vast
majority of the harvested crops waste away during the farm season while huge amount of money is
being used by the government to offset the import bills of the same commodities during the off season.

3.4.5 Abolition of Trade Barriers

There should be free trade across the African borders to guarantee free flow of food commodities across
borders. Though, there are various extant trade agreements with other African countries especially the
western Africa but the enforcement across nations has been very weak. If these trade agreements are
fully operational the food insecurity will not only be minimized in Nigeria but in other African
countries.

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 4.0 Conclusion
The problem of food insecurity must be seen as a security threats to not only to the country but also to
the continent as a whole thereby prompting each country to device means aimed at reducing the menace
headlong so as to prevent possible negative consequences that usually accompany food insecurity in
countries that have suffered unrest before. If the problem is attacked with all seriousness by
implementing the recommendations of various policy makers then the continent will be self-sufficient in
terms of food security.

References

The Guardian (Accessed 11th May, 2015): Nigerian Population to Overtake US by 2030
(http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/jun/13/nigeria-larger-population-us-2050)

Cargill, 2014: Food Security – The Challenges

http://www.cargill.com/wcm/groups/public/@ccom/documents/document/na3059573.pdf

Angela, M. (2006): Achieving Food Security in Africa: The Challenges and Issues

http://www.food-security.nl/resource/achieving-food-security-africa-challenges-and-issues

Population Action International (Accessed May 11, 2015). Why Population Matters to food Security

http://pai.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/PAI-1293-FOOD_compressed.pdf

Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), 2014: The state of food insecurity in the world, SOFI,
2014 Available at http://www.fao.org/publications/sofi/2014/en/

Worldometers, (2014): Distribution of World Population by countries (Assessed 11th May, 2015)

http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/nigeria-population/

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