Food security experts have raised alarm that hunger is worsening in Nigeria, revealing that two out of every eleven Nigerians face daily hunger. They also warned that one in five Africans goes without food each day.
The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) National Focal Person, Onijighogia Emmanuel, disclosed this on Friday in Abuja during a workshop for non-state actors on the Maputo to Kampala Declaration.
Emmanuel said the Kampala Declaration, adopted by African leaders in January 2025, aims to transform Africa’s food systems between 2026 and 2035 by boosting agricultural productivity and ensuring food security across the continent.
He called on government agencies, farmers, and civil society groups to work together to implement the plan.
“In Nigeria, about six in ten households cannot afford nutritious meals,” he said.
Emmanuel also warned that Africa’s growing population could worsen hunger if urgent steps are not taken.
“Africa’s population is expected to reach 2.5 billion by 2050, and Nigeria alone will have around 450 million people,” he noted.
He added that 58 per cent of Africans already face food insecurity, with 924.8 million people unable to afford a healthy diet. “Unsafe food remains another challenge, with over 130,000 Africans falling ill from contaminated food each year, including more than 50,000 Nigerians,” he said.
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Speaking on government commitments, Emmanuel recalled that African countries, under the Maputo and Kampala declarations, agreed to allocate at least 10 per cent of their national budgets to agriculture to achieve a 6 per cent GDP growth rate.
“Nigeria currently spends only about 3 per cent,” he stated.
He commended the Federal Government for setting up a technical committee to design a 10-year national plan aligned with CAADP and for creating an Agricultural Central Working Group that includes members from government, private sector, and farmers’ groups.
Emmanuel also urged more participation of women and youths in farming, saying, “We need to encourage women and young people to participate in agriculture.”
ActionAid Nigeria’s Food Systems Specialist, Azubike Nwokoye, stressed the need for accountability in implementing the Kampala Declaration.
“Non-state actors must strengthen research, evidence generation, and policy advocacy to ensure proper use of agricultural funds,” he said.
He identified key areas needing attention such as access to credit, youth participation, extension services, processing facilities, and reducing post-harvest losses.
Nwokoye said ActionAid has organised smallholder women farmers into cooperatives, forming a movement of over two million members — the largest in Africa.
“We are also mobilising young farmers to take part in agricultural policymaking,” he added.
The Coordinator of the Small-Scale Women Farmers Organisation, Oyediji Grace Bukola, also appealed to the government to honour its 10 per cent budget commitment to agriculture.
“We are going to intensify advocacy on the implementation of the Kampala Declaration at all levels,” she said.
Warning against neglecting farmers, Bukola added, “Farmers don’t want to go on strike. Because if we go on strike, nobody will have food on their table. We want to put food on every household’s table.”
Nigeria’s worsening food insecurity comes amid rising poverty, with over 133 million Nigerians living in multidimensional poverty as of 2022 — lacking basic needs such as food, education, clean water, and healthcare.