Food Insecurity Looming in Nigeria Due to Insurgency

Nigeria is currently experiencing a high level of insurgency crisis, which experts say will worsen the country's food insecurity if the government does not act quickly to control it, with the impact of the Russian-Ukraine war already shaking the commodity market and threatening global food security, with the African region being the hardest hit.

Over the last few years, Nigeria has been ravaged by an insurgency crisis, which has primarily affected the country's northern region. The northern part of Nigeria has been repeatedly disrupted by an insurgency crisis, which has hampered agricultural/farming activities.

Farmers are afraid to go to their farmlands because they are afraid of being killed. The lack of farmers on farmlands has had a significant impact on food production, raising market prices for food commodities and contributing to food insecurity.

The effects of the Russian-Ukraine war and Nigeria's insurgency crisis are more like a double bind for the country. Many rural farmlands have been destroyed, and many people have been displaced, with a large number of them seeking refuge in IDP camps.

Agricultural activities in Nigeria, particularly in the north, have been hampered by the insurgency crisis, which has resulted in food scarcity and influenced market prices for food commodities. The most painful aspect of this is that the country's government continues to fold its arms and play politics with people's lives, with no effective measures in place to combat the insecurity threat.

With the rate of insecurity in the country disrupting agricultural activities, government policies aimed at ensuring food security in the country may fail to produce meaningful results until the issue of insecurity is addressed. While the government continues to procrastinate on a variety of agricultural reforms, they must prioritize farmer safety in order to ensure the country's food security.

The northern region is said to produce more food for Nigeria, i.e. the majority of food products in Nigeria come from the northern region, which is, unfortunately, the hardest hit by the insurgency crisis.

As a result, the abandonment of farmlands in the Northern region should not be taken lightly, as it has already had a negative impact on the country's food security. According to reports, 78,000 farmers in Borno, Katsina, Plateau, Taraba, and other northern states will have abandoned their farms by 2021 as a result of attacks by herdsmen, armed bandits, and Boko Haram.

The government must understand that anything that threatens Nigeria's food security will result in a high mortality rate, an increased risk of some birth defects, lower nutrient intakes, cognitive problems, malnutrition, and so on. It is past time for the government to implement appropriate security measures to combat this security threat.

They must put the cart before the horse by first addressing the country's insecurity crisis and ensuring the maximum security of farmers in their farmlands before providing them with the agricultural equipment required to improve agricultural activities in the country.