Building Resilience to Nigeria’s Climate-Driven Food Crisis

Climate change poses severe risks to food security, especially in vulnerable nations like Nigeria.  The World Health Organisation (WHO) warns climate change “threatens the essential ingredients of good health, clean air, safe drinking water, nutritious food supply and safe shelter”. In Nigeria, these threats are already materialising. A 2024 UN analysis projects 33.1 million Nigerians facing high levels of food insecurity in the 2025 lean season, an increase of 7 million from the prior year.  This surge is driven by record inflation, ongoing conflict and climate-related disasters. Nigerian policymakers and citizens must recognise how climate extremes, severe droughts, intense heat and catastrophic floods interact with socio-economic factors to fuel hunger. 

Nigeria’s agriculture is mostly rain-fed and highly vulnerable to weather.  In recent years, rising temperatures and erratic rainfall have intensified desertification and droughts in the northern part of the country, while extreme rains and historic floods in Middlesbelt and southern Nigeria, exacerbated by oil spills, create a dire food crisis. The UN World Food Programme notes that flooding and other climate shocks are driving up food prices and reducing availability. 

Even before climate shocks, Nigeria struggled with hunger.  By UN analysis, roughly one in seven Nigerians per 25 million people experienced high or acute food insecurity in 2024. Among the most vulnerable are children and pregnant women. About 5.4 million children under five and 800,000 pregnant or breastfeeding women in affected states face acute malnutrition.  Shockingly, up to 1.8 million children could suffer severe acute malnutrition without urgent aid.  In other words, climate-related crop failures are compounding existing hunger problems. Households losing crops to floods or droughts now risk starvation or serious malnutrition. Policymakers must understand that climate change is a multiplier of Nigeria’s food crisis.

Over the past decades, the government adopted plans such as the 2016–2020 Agricultural Promotion Policy (“Green Alternative”), the 2015 National Agricultural Resilience Framework (NARF), and a 2018 National Food and Nutrition Security Policy.  The recent National Adaptation Plan (2023) explicitly prioritises agriculture and food systems.  For example, it calls for mainstreaming climate-smart agriculture (CSA) deploying drought-tolerant seeds, water-efficient irrigation and sustainable farming techniques to protect yields and soils.  Likewise, Nigeria’s National Agricultural Seeds Council has promoted climate-resilient varieties since 2007.

In practice, however, these policies suffer from weak coordination and enforcement.  Ministries overlap and funds are often diverted, so farmers still struggle to get promised inputs and support.  Many programs are not tailored to local realities. For instance, subsidies often reach better-off farmers, and extension services rarely reach remote villages.  Moreover, policy agendas frequently overlook the on-the-ground impacts of climate change. In one assessment, authors argue that older policies do not adequately consider the climatic and socioeconomic realities faced by farmers.  The result is that Nigeria’s rich framework of plans has not yet translated into resilient farms. Strengthening institutional capacity, transparency and multi-sector coordination is essential so that adaptation measures actually reach vulnerable communities.

To avert a hunger catastrophe, Nigeria’s response must be urgent, coordinated and data-driven. This can be possible by adopting the following key recommended actions. Firstly, Scaling up climate-smart agriculture (CSA) must be a national priority for Nigeria. Zambia provides a compelling example through partnerships with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI), drought-tolerant maize varieties were introduced to smallholder farmers. Studies show these farmers achieved 15–30% higher yields during moderate droughts, significantly improving food security and income. If Nigeria invests in disseminating drought-tolerant maize, flood-tolerant rice, and other resilient seeds nationwide, it could mitigate climate shocks while boosting rural livelihoods.

Investing in irrigation and water harvesting is equally urgent. Senegal’s “solar pump villages,” developed under the Great Green Wall Initiative, power drip irrigation systems with renewable energy, allowing farmers to cultivate year-round. These projects reduced rural migration and created hubs of agricultural productivity. For Nigeria’s drought-prone Sahel and savannah zones, scaling small-scale drip irrigation, solar pumps, and rainwater harvesting would not only stabilize production but also improve resilience against erratic rainfall patterns.

Training farmers and extension officers in soil conservation, agroforestry, and salt-tolerant crop adoption is another proven strategy. Bangladesh’s Rice Research Institute has developed salt-tolerant rice varieties that yield 4–5.5 tons per hectare in saline zones, compared to 1–1.5 tons for traditional varieties. This innovation increased farmer incomes by 20–30%. Nigeria, especially in its flood-prone Niger Delta, can adapt similar practices to protect food systems from salinity and floods, ensuring higher yields where conventional crops fail.

Strengthening research partnerships will also be critical. Nigeria’s collaboration with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) on cassava led to the development of high-yield, disease-resistant varieties that made Nigeria the world’s largest cassava producer. This model should be extended to other staples such as maize, millet, and rice through closer partnerships between Nigerian research institutes (IAR&T, NRCRI) and international bodies like FAO and CGIAR. Such alliances can deliver breakthroughs in crop adaptation and secure Nigeria’s food base under climate stress.

Strengthening early warning and disaster response must also be prioritized. Ethiopia’s COLMET project revolutionized forecasting by creating community-level advisories that helped farmers adjust planting schedules, leading to a 60% increase in yields and 30% reduction in crop loss during drought years. If Nigeria’s NiMET is adequately funded and linked to local farming advisories, it could provide millions of farmers with life-saving information. Coupled with pre-positioned seed banks, food reserves, and contingency funds, Nigeria could avert famine-scale crises when droughts or floods hit.

Finally, investing in rural infrastructure and public awareness is essential for long-term resilience. Countries like Rwanda have shown that better farm-to-market roads and storage systems drastically reduce post-harvest losses, while Cuba’s investments in rural health and energy strengthened agricultural productivity. In Nigeria, expanding solar-powered cold chains, rural roads, and community storage could cut current post-harvest losses (often over 30%) and stabilize food supply. Simultaneously, public campaigns using radio, mobile platforms, and farmer field schools should disseminate adaptive techniques. Empowering women farmers who form a large share of Nigeria’s agricultural workforce with credit and training would further strengthen resilience.

Nigeria now faces a decisive moment. Climate change is amplifying food insecurity on every front from shrinking harvests to soaring prices and millions of citizens remain at risk. But this crisis is also an opportunity. By urgently scaling climate-smart agriculture, investing in irrigation and infrastructure, strengthening early warning systems, and empowering farmers, Nigeria can safeguard its food systems for the future.

Policymakers must adopt a coherent, evidence-based plan and ensure timely implementation across federal and state levels. International partners including UN agencies, donors, and the private sector must align behind this agenda with technical and financial support. With coordination, political will, and sustained funding, Nigeria can shift from vulnerability to resilience ensuring that climate shocks do not translate into hunger, but into a catalyst for building a stronger, more food-secure nation.