THE Cadre Harmonisé (CH) Report for October estimates that over 33.1 million people across 26 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) may experience a food and nutrition crisis from June to August 2025.
Released on Friday, November 1 2024 in Abuja, this forecast stems from an analysis led by the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organisation, the World Food Programme, Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, and other key partners.
The states projected to be affected include Sokoto, Zamfara, Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Gombe, Taraba, Katsina, Jigawa, Kano, Bauchi, Plateau, Kaduna, Kebbi, Niger, and Benue.
Additional states projected to be impacted include Cross River, Enugu, Edo, Abia, Kogi, Nasarawa, Kwara, Ogun, Lagos, Rivers, and the FCT.
The report highlights that this estimate includes around 514,474 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) located in Borno, Sokoto, and Zamfara.
It also reveals that roughly 25 million people across these 26 states and the FCT are already facing food crises.
Kouacou Koffy, the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), country representative to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), urged immediate action and a coordinated strategy to tackle food and nutrition security issues in the country.
“With the concerted efforts of the government, CH stakeholders, and the international community, we can move closer to alleviating hunger and reducing suffering for Nigeria’s most vulnerable populations.” He said
Koffy noted that Nigeria faces multiple challenges, including economic pressures that drive up the prices of staple crops and agricultural goods, climate-related issues like floods and droughts, and insecurity.
He explained that the purpose of CH workshops is to assess food security data and influencing factors to pinpoint regions and populations vulnerable to food and nutrition insecurity in the country.
Additionally, he stated that these workshops aim to recommend effective measures to prevent or reduce current food crises.
Temitope Fashedemi, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, promised that the government would use the report’s findings to inform food and nutrition security initiatives throughout the states.
Balama Dauda, the CH Focal Person for the National Programme on Food Security, highlighted the main factors contributing to the food crisis, which include rising prices of food and non-food items, flooding, and insecurity.
Fatimah Quadri is a Journalist and a Fact-checker at The ICIR. She has written news articles, fact-checks, explainers, and media literacy in an effort to combat information disorder.
She can be reached at sunmibola_q on X or fquadri@icirnigeria.org