By: Ojay Matthew
No fewer than 34.7 million Nigerians across 27 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) could face severe food and nutrition insecurity between June and August 2026, according to the latest *Cadre Harmonisé (CH)* report released on Friday in Abuja. The assessment, presented during the October 2025 Results Presentation Workshop, painted a grim picture of the country’s food security outlook despite slight improvements in some economic indicators.
The report revealed that about 27.2 million people — including more than 485,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) — are already in crisis or worse phases of food insecurity between October and December 2025. The *Cadre Harmonisé* analysis, produced by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS) with technical backing from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and other partners, underscores the urgent need for coordinated interventions to prevent a deepening food crisis.
Declaring the workshop open, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Marcus Ogunbiyi, described the findings as a “wake-up call” for government agencies and stakeholders. He warned that without immediate and unified action, millions could face extreme hunger and malnutrition next year.
While the report noted a slight decline in inflation and the consumer price index, it observed that food insecurity remains widespread, with more than half of Nigerian households resorting to negative coping mechanisms such as eating less nutritious food, reducing portion sizes, or borrowing to buy food. The analysis blamed soaring food prices on currency instability, high transportation costs, and the rising cost of essential commodities like vegetable oil, dairy products, meat, and condiments — all of which increased by over 35 percent in the review period.
The report further highlighted insecurity, high input costs, and weak rural economies as major threats to food production, especially in the North-East, North-West, and parts of the North-Central regions. It noted that persistent insurgency, banditry, and kidnapping have continued to limit farmers’ access to farmlands, undermining agricultural productivity and deepening the nation’s food crisis.
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