Achieving Sustainable Food Systems in a Global Crisis: NIGERIA

Nigeria is not on track to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, with poverty and hunger projected to rise without significant intervention. The report identifies a massive financing gap, estimating that an additional USD 4.9 billion in annual public investment is required from 2023 to 2030 to achieve a sustainable food system transformation. This includes USD 2.3 billion from external donors and USD 2.6 billion from domestic resources. Key priorities include increasing agricultural productivity, integrating climate resilience, and transitioning to healthier diets through nutrition education and social protection. The report highlights a critical underfunding of long-term agricultural investments compared to short-term emergency food assistance.

• Without additional public investment, extreme poverty in Nigeria is projected to increase from 40% in 2019 to 46% by 2030, and chronic hunger is predicted to rise from 14% in 2019 to 21% in 2030.
• Sustainable food system transformation in Nigeria requires an additional annual public investment of USD 4.9 billion from 2023 to 2030. This funding would be split between domestic resources (USD 2.6 billion) and external donor grants (USD 2.3 billion).
• There is a significant imbalance in funding, where official development assistance (ODA) for short-term emergency food assistance has increased while long-term agricultural and food security investments have stagnated.
• Dietary quality is poor and varies by region; cereals and starches account for 68% of total caloric intake. Southern Nigeria generally exhibits higher dietary diversity than the north, with higher consumption of fish, seafood, and fruits.
• Agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are increasing, with livestock accounting for 78% of these emissions in 2018. Total agricultural GHG emissions are projected to grow by 2.3% per year, or 25% over a decade.
• Climate change is expected to increase the frequency and severity of droughts and floods, leading to desertification in the north and sea level rise, saltwater intrusion, and flooding in the south.
• The report identifies three primary areas for spending the required additional funds: on-farm productivity and incomes (USD 2.0 billion/year), social protection, education, and school feeding (USD 1.6 billion/year), and market infrastructure to move food (USD 1.3 billion/year).
• Post-harvest loss rates for perishable crops in Nigeria can reach as high as 60%, necessitating investments in road networks and cold storage to improve food safety and availability.
• A review of donor projects from GIZ, EU, and USAID found that while they focus on increasing production, none of the reviewed projects specifically targeted the livestock sector or addressed the rising levels of obesity and diabetes.

APA

Bizikova, L., De Brauw, A., Rose, M. E., Laborde, D., Motsumi, K., Murphy, M., Parent, M., Picard, F., & Smaller, C. (2022). Achieving Sustainable Food Systems in a Global Crisis: NIGERIA. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-09/sustainable-food-systems-global-crisis-nigeria.pdf

Chicago

Bizikova, Livia, Alan De Brauw, Mali Eber Rose, David Laborde, Kulthoum Motsumi, Mike Murphy, Marie Parent, Francine Picard, and Carin Smaller. Achieving Sustainable Food Systems in a Global Crisis: NIGERIA. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2022. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-09/sustainable-food-systems-global-crisis-nigeria.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bizikova |first1=Livia |last2=De Brauw |first2=Alan |last3=Rose |first3=Mali Eber |last4=Laborde |first4=David |last5=Motsumi |first5=Kulthoum |last6=Murphy |first6=Mike |last7=Parent |first7=Marie |last8=Picard |first8=Francine |last9=Smaller |first9=Carin |title=Achieving Sustainable Food Systems in a Global Crisis: NIGERIA |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=September 2022 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-09/sustainable-food-systems-global-crisis-nigeria.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bizikova2022achieving, author = {Bizikova, Livia and De Brauw, Alan and Rose, Mali Eber and Laborde, David and Motsumi, Kulthoum and Murphy, Mike and Parent, Marie and Picard, Francine and Smaller, Carin}, title = {{Achieving Sustainable Food Systems in a Global Crisis: NIGERIA}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2022}, month = sep, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-09/sustainable-food-systems-global-crisis-nigeria.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }