Rising food prices have left 65.8 per cent of Nigerian households unable to afford healthy, nutritious or preferred foods, highlighting the growing difficulty of maintaining a balanced diet amid the country’s worsening food insecurity.
The finding is contained in two reports released by Orodata Science on Friday in Lagos to mark World Food Day, titled “Food Insecurity in Nigeria” and “The Price of Eating Well in Nigeria.”
According to the reports, data from the National Bureau of Statistics’ General Household Survey-Panel Wave 5 (2023/24) showed that 37 per cent of Nigerian households experienced food shortages within the 12 months preceding the survey.
The North-East recorded the highest incidence, with 53 per cent of households experiencing food shortages, compared with 25.7 per cent in the North-Central region.
The reports also showed that food insecurity affects both urban and rural communities, with 37.4 per cent of urban households and 36.8 per cent of rural households experiencing food shortages.
Beyond the availability of food, financial constraints have forced many households to compromise on the quality and variety of their diets.
The survey revealed that 63.8 per cent of households ate only a few types of food because of financial difficulties, while 62.4 per cent worried about having insufficient food.
It further showed that the proportion of households worried about running out of food increased from 36.9 per cent in 2018/19 to 62.4 per cent in 2023/24.
Rising food prices emerged as a major factor, with 71 per cent of households reporting that increases in the prices of major food items had affected them.
The report on the cost of eating well examined how the affordability of nutritious foods shapes household food choices and nutritional outcomes, particularly among families struggling to meet their basic needs.
Orodata said the findings demonstrated that many Nigerians were not only struggling to secure sufficient food but were also unable to afford diverse and healthy diets.
The organisation called for coordinated policies across agriculture, social protection, nutrition, market regulation and economic planning to address the growing challenge.
It advocated increased investment in local food production, stable food markets, nutrition-sensitive social programmes and targeted assistance for vulnerable households.
The reports were produced by Orodata’s Food Security team, comprising researchers, data analysts, designers and visual storytellers, who transformed official statistics into charts, infographics and visual narratives.
Orodata said making data accessible to the public was essential to helping policymakers, citizens, media organisations and development partners understand the scale of food insecurity and develop evidence-based solutions.
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The organisation uses data visualisation and storytelling to promote accountability, civic engagement and evidence-based decision-making.
The reports and accompanying visualisations are available on Orodata’s website and social media platforms.
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