Video - Nigeria food experts divided over government approval of GMO crops

Nigerian food experts continue debating over a decision by the West African nation’s government to approve the consumption and sale of genetically modified crops to address food insecurity, a verdict that critics say poses health risks and economic challenges. VOA correspondents Kahli Abdu and Aisha Muazu have more.

VOA

Video - Nigeria faces food shortages, currency strain

Nigerians grappled with economic pressures in 2024, as food, fuel, and transportation costs surged. Inflation hit a 17-year high of 32.15 percent in August, pushing millions to the brink of hunger.

CGTN

Nigeria adopts multiple micronutrient-fortified bouillon cube standards to reduce malnutrition and child mortality

The Nigerian government has enacted a new industrial standard for bouillon which includes a provision for adding vital micronutrients. The new standard specifies the inclusion of iron, zinc, folic acid and vitamin B12 on a voluntary basis in nationally produced and imported bouillon cubes to reduce malnutrition and child mortality.

An international team, including researchers from the University of California, Davis, worked with the government of Africa's most populous country to model the public health benefits of fortifying bouillon cubes, a staple in West African cooking. While fortification standards for foods like wheat flour and edible oils are in place, these foods have limited impacts on dietary quality because they are either not consumed frequently or in sufficient amounts by those most in need.

Bouillon cubes, however, are a popular ingredient in West African cooking, consumed by the vast majority of households regardless of socioeconomic status or location, offering a more equitable pathway for impact.

The policy change has the potential to save over 57,000 lives of children under the age of 5 in Nigeria between 2023 and 2030, the research team predicts.

Micronutrients are essential dietary elements that help regulate the physiological functions of cells and organs—supporting healthy growth and development during critical phases of life. Micronutrient deficiencies are widespread in West Africa, contributing to poor child health, development and mortality.

Addressing micronutrient deficiencies

Led by the UC Davis Institute of Global Nutrition and Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, experts Stephen A. Vosti, Reina Engle-Stone, Katherine Adams, Michael Jarvis and their national and international collaborators, including UC Davis alum Seth Adu-Afarwuah, developed and used the Micronutrient Intervention Modeling (MINIMOD) tools to generate the evidence needed by the many stakeholders involved in the international bouillon fortification project. Two studies have been published in Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

In parallel, researchers from UC Davis, in collaboration with the University of Ghana, conducted a community-based study to test the acceptability of multiple micronutrient-fortified bouillon cubes with different levels of iron, zinc, vitamin A, folic acid and vitamin B12 by women and their households. All formulations were well-liked by more than 90% of the respondents, suggesting that a broad array of formulations of the micronutrients can be used for further research and to test the impacts of the bouillon cubes on nutritional status and other outcomes.


The team followed this work with a randomized controlled study in the same region to gauge the impact of the multiple micronutrient-fortified bouillon on micronutrient status and related outcomes. Results of this study, supervised by UC Davis researcher Sika Kumordzie, are being analyzed.

"This was the first field-based study undertaken to measure the impacts of multiple micronutrient-fortified bouillon. It therefore provides an important 'cornerstone' of evidence needed to understand the impact of fortification of bouillon in contexts where the condiment has broad and equitable reach," said Engle-Stone.

Using the MINIMOD tool in three countries (Burkina Faso, Senegal and Nigeria), this study showed important gaps in the availability of nutrients in the household food supply to meet dietary requirements for children. Folate, zinc and vitamin A show the highest inadequacy levels, with iron and B12 problematic, but to a lesser extent. In collaboration with Johns Hopkins University, the Lives Saved Tool was used to estimate the impacts of fortification with selected micronutrients (vitamin A, folic acid and zinc) on child mortality.

According to national household data from Senegal, based on food intake alone, 92% of women of reproductive age nationally have dietary inadequacy of folate. Adding fortified bouillon to the existing wheat flour fortification program would decrease national inadequacy to 23%. Researchers also suggest that bouillon fortification would substantially decrease inadequacies among children in vitamin A, zinc and folate, with modest gains for vitamin B12 and minimal impact on iron inadequacy.

Reductions in folate inadequacy among women of reproductive age, and in vitamin A and zinc inadequacies among children, could lead to significant reductions in child mortality, according to previously published studies by the team.

"We're pleased to see the government of Nigeria implement these new standards," said Vosti. "We hope these models will support discussions and policy changes needed to tackle preventable health problems throughout West Africa and more broadly."

By Neelanjana Gautam, Medical Xpress

Related story: Video - Nigeria’s health authorities to fortify bouillon cubes to improve diets

Senate seeks to criminalise corn exports to tackle hunger in Nigeria

Nigeria's Senate has passed a bill seeking to make it a crime to export large quantities of unprocessed corn in an effort to alleviate hunger in the West African nation, documents seen by Reuters on Friday showed.

Africa's most populous country is grappling with its worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation.
Economic hardship has worsened since President Bola Tinubu started austerity reforms, including devaluing the country's naira currency and ending a decades-old petrol subsidy, fuelling inflation.

The weak Nigerian currency has spurred informal exports of corn, rice and sorghum to neighbouring countries due to the exchange rate differential with the West African CFA franc.

Corn is a staple in Nigeria that is also used for animal feed, drinks and processed flour.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) forecasts a rise in Nigeria's 2024/25 corn exports to 75,000 metric tons from its 2023/24 estimate of 50,000 metric tons.

The Senate bill, which will need the president's assent to become law, will make it illegal to export unprocessed corn from a minimum of 1 metric ton.

Violators would pay the value of the corn in fines or face a one-year prison sentence.

A joint report by Nigeria's government and the United Nations said in November that more than 30 million people are expected to be food insecure next year, a one-third jump from this year.

The USDA estimates that Nigeria consumes about 12 million metric tons of corn a year, importing roughly 100,000 metric tons.

By Camillus Eboh, Reuters

Video - Millions of Nigerians go hungry due to severe floods, insecurity, rising food costs

The World Food Programme says the number of people in dire need of food aid in Nigeria is expected to rise to 33 million by June 2025. The group blames the food insecurity issue on unfavorable weather conditions, insurgent attacks, and a surge in food prices resulting from the removal of a fuel subsidy.

CGTN

Millions of Nigerians go hungry as floods compound hardship

Unrelenting price rises and a brutal insurgency had already made it hard for Nigerians in northeastern Borno State to feed their families. When a dam collapsed in September, flooding the state capital and surrounding farmland, many people ran out of options.

Now they queue for handouts in camps for those displaced by fighting between extremist Boko Haram rebels and the military. When those run out, they seek work on local farms where they risk being killed or raped by local bandits.

"I can't even cry anymore. I'm too tired," said Indo Usman, who tried to start again in the state capital Maiduguri, rearing animals for the two annual Muslim holy days, after years of repeatedly fleeing rebel attacks in rural Borno.

The flood washed that all away, driving her, her husband and their six children to a bare room at Gubio, an unfinished housing project about 96 km (60 miles) northwest of Maiduguri that has become a displacement camp.

Torrential rains and floods in 29 of Nigeria's 36 states this year have destroyed more than 1.5 million hectares of cropland, affecting more than nine million people, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Climate change is a factor, as is Nigeria's poorly maintained or non-existent infrastructure as well as vulnerabilities caused by the weakening Naira currency and the scrapping of a government fuel subsidy.

The cost of staples like rice and beans has doubled, tripled or even quadrupled in a year, depending on location -- an unmanageable shock for millions of poor families.

Mass kidnappings for ransom in the northwest and conflict between farmers and pastoralists in the central belt, traditionally the nation's bread basket, have also disrupted agriculture and squeezed food supplies.
 

'HUNGRIEST OF THE HUNGRY'

Roughly 40% of Nigeria's more than 200 million people live below the international poverty line of $2.15 per person per day, the World Bank estimates.

Already, 25 million people live in acute food and nutrition insecurity - putting their lives or livelihoods in immediate danger, according to a joint analysis by the government and U.N. agencies. That number is expected to rise to 33 million by next June-August.

"The food crisis in Nigeria is immense because what we are seeing is a crisis within a crisis within a crisis," said Trust Mlambo, head of programme for the northeast at the World Food Programme, in an interview with Reuters in Maiduguri.

With international donors focused on emergencies in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan, Mlambo said there was not enough funding to fully meet Nigeria's growing need for food aid.

"We are really prioritising the hungriest of the hungry," he said.

In Borno, the Alau dam, upriver from Maiduguri, gave way on Sept. 9, four days after state officials had told the public it was secure. Local residents and engineers had been warning that it was under strain.

Hundreds of people were killed in the resulting flood, according to aid workers who did not wish to be identified for fear of offending the state government. A spokesperson for the state government did not respond to requests for comment.

Zainab Abubakar, a self-employed tailor in the city who lived in relative comfort with her husband and six children in a house with a refrigerator, was awoken at midnight by water rushing into her bedroom.

They ran for their lives while the flood destroyed their house and carried everything away, including her sewing machine. Now, they are sheltering at Gubio and collecting rice from aid agencies in a plastic bucket. "There is no alternative," she said.

In Banki, on Nigeria's border with Cameroon about 133 km (83 miles) southeast of Maiduguri, Mariam Hassan lost crops of maize, pepper and then okra in repeated flooding of her subsistence farm this year, leaving her with nothing to eat or sell.

"I beg the neighbours or relatives to give me food, not even for me but for my children, for us to survive," said Hassan, who has eight children. "The situation has turned me into a beggar." 

By Ope Adetayo, Reuters

Video - Malnutrition rates rise in Nigeria

Healthcare workers have reported a rise in severe malnutrition among young people in the Lake Chad region, where years of conflict have devastated agriculture and worsened food security. Humanitarian agencies estimate 6.1 million people will face food shortages in the coming months.

CGTN

Video - Nigeria rolls out rice subsidy as economic woes deepen

With inflation hitting a near three-decade high of 33.4 percent in July, millions of Nigerians have struggled to keep up with rising food costs. This subsidy comes as a lifeline for many families teetering on the edge. However, the rice sale is limited to public servants and those with a National Identification Number (or NIN), leaving many out of the program.

CGTN

Video - Nigeria’s health authorities to fortify bouillon cubes to improve diets

Bouillon cubes, typically made from salt, sugars, starch, vegetable fats and proteins, as well as herbs and spices, are widely used in Nigeria. Experts say their fortification could vastly improve the diets of millions of families living on restricted budgets, as they cannot afford protein-rich meals like fish and meat.

CGTN

Video - Nigeria spends $1.5 billion annually on dairy imports

The growing demand for dairy products in Nigeria, coupled with limited local production, has led the government to spend $1.5 billion annually on imports. Currently, local dairy production meets only 40% of the country’s demand, as Africa's most populous nation continues to struggle with boosting its milk output.

CGTN

Is Nigeria, finally ready for McDonald’s?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Roswell to Guantanamo Bay, no matter where you are in the word, the famous Golden Arches often aren’t far away. However, McDonald's Africa is yet to be fully established.

Worldwide, there are 36,899 McDonald’s, stretching across 120 countries. When you map out where McDonald’s aren't, however, it shows one continent in particular is lacking the Big Mac: Africa.

The biggest obstacle blocking McDonald’s from Nigeria is a lack of adequate supply chains. Geographically, Nigeria lies too far from South Africa, Egypt or Morocco to simply expand existing supply chains.

Countries with no existing McDonald’s outlets are highlighted here in red.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although Africa is home to over 1.2bn people, McDonald’s is present in just four African countries: Morocco, Egypt, South Africa and Mauritius.

Combined, these markets contain a paltry 387 McDonald’s. To give a better perspective, there are 393 McDonald’s outlets in Mexico alone.

As core Western markets continue to stagnate, fast food companies should turn their attention to the largely unsaturated African markets. And where better than the economic powerhouse, Nigeria.

In 2015, McDonald’s South Africa CEO, Greg Solomon, claimed that “it was not about if, but when” the brand would be entering Nigeria. However, news on the subject has since all but dried up.

Over half of global population growth will occur in Africa between now and 2050, according to a recent PwC report with Nigeria’s population alone expected to reach around 400m in 2050, which would make it the third most populous nation in the world.

Economically, the Nigerian market is also becoming increasingly attractive to fast food chains.

Nigeria’s GDP per capita has risen from $379.12 at the turn of the Millennium, to $2,177.99 in 2016, while 46 percent of people in Nigeria say their disposable incomes are increasing, according to a recent GlobalData survey.

The World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business index for 2018 also saw the country rise to 145th, up from 169th in 2017.

The McDonald’s brand -- due to being a US brand -- would likely be viewed positively compared to domestic fast food chains. GlobalData research found 48 percent of Nigerian consumers associate the US with high quality food and drink, higher than both Europe (34 percent) and Nigeria itself (30 percent).

"Is Africa, and Nigeria, finally ready for McDonald’s?" was originally created and published by Verdict, a GlobalData owned brand.

Global Data

Poultry farming sector hit by inflation in Nigeria

Nigeria's poultry farming sector is experiencing widespread problems. Rising costs of feed, drugs, and production have led to the closure of 30 percent of farms within just six months.

CGTN

Health authorities in Nigeria issue warning against locally-made beverages

 

Nigerian health officials have cautioned against consuming locally-made drinks believed to contribute to the spread of cholera, which has claimed over 60 lives in the country this year. The drinks are often produced by unlicensed traders who often use untreated water. 

CGTN

Video - Tomato industry in disarray in Nigeria over attack by Tuta absoluta moth pest

The attacks by the pest have resulted in a tomato shortage, hitting markets very hard. Traders are also straining to maintain their regular output, while consumers are struggling to find alternatives.

CGTN

Ginger farmers in Nigeria struggle after outbreak of disease

Nigeria is one of the world’s leading producers of ginger, but a massive outbreak of fungal disease last year caused millions of dollars of damage. The Nigerian government has launched an emergency recovery intervention to help ginger farmers. Timothy Obiezu reports from Kaduna.

VOA

Video - Cost of making jollof rice in Nigeria surges

Jollof rice, one of Nigeria's most beloved meals, is becoming a rarity in many households as the prices of ingredients have risen by more than 150 percent over the past year.

Related stories: Rising Food Prices in Nigeria Hit Nation’s Beloved Jollof Dish

Video - Ghana-Nigeria rivalry transcends from cuisine to the pitch

 

 

Nigerian farmers abandon farms after attacks, sending food prices higher

Hassan Ya'u, a 42-year-old maize and sesame seed farmer in Nigeria's northern Katsina state, was tending to his crops early this month when dozens of armed men on motorcycles rode towards his plot and started shooting at close range.

Ya'u and fellow farmer Musa Nasidi managed to escape, but at least 50 people - many of them farmers working their fields at the time - were killed in the attack in the latest in a series of deadly raids on farming areas.

An unknown number of people were abducted in the assault, which was carried out in broad daylight.
Ya'u and Nasidi said the gunmen had attacked their Kankara farming community because farmers had not paid a levy imposed by the armed gang.

Such raids are forcing many farmers to leave their fields, contributing to higher food prices and soaring inflation as Nigeria faces the worst cost of living crisis in a generation.

"They set ablaze my produce and took away foodstuff worth about 4 million naira ($2,739.73)," said Ya'u, who has sought refuge in Daura town, nearly 200 km (124 miles) from Kankara.

"I don't have access to my farm because bandits have taken control of the area. Everything has been ruined," added the father of 13 children who faces an uncertain future.

Armed gangs demand as much as three million naira per village, depending on the size, to allow farmers to work.

"The farmers are even forming vigilante groups to make sure they are able to access the farms but it is still very difficult," said Kabir Ibrahim, president of All Farmers Association of Nigeria.

Northern Nigeria produces the bulk of the country's staples like rice, yam and maize, but it is also its most unstable region, as armed kidnapping gangs attack and pillage villages in the northwest while Islamist militants cause havoc in the northeast.

Nasidi, 36, fled to near Katsina town after the Kankara attack.

He used to harvest about 400 bags of groundnuts, 80 bags of sesame seed and 200 bags of maize, he said, but now faces a bleak year after part of his 8.5-hectare farm was set ablaze by bandits.

"The situation is beyond our control and I was left with no choice other than to leave Kankara because our lives were in danger," Nasidi told Reuters.

A World Food Programme report on the outlook for acute food insecurity globally said Nigeria has joined the world's "hunger hotspots", which analysts attribute to insecurity in farming areas and high costs of seed, fertiliser, chemicals and diesel.

Lagos-based consultancy SBM Intelligence said 1,356 farmers in Nigeria were killed since 2020. This year, 137 deaths had been recorded, it said, adding that farming was becoming a dangerous occupation.

"The risk is very grave," said Confidence McHarry, SBM's lead security analyst, adding that gunmen also attacked farmers "on suspicion of collaborating with the military."

Defence spokesperson Major General Edward Buba said that with the rainy season under way, the military was prioritising farmers' security.

"The farmers union are keying into the farm protection plan of the armed forces to make the best of the rainy season," he said, without elaborating.

But for 22-year-old farmer Abdulaziz Gora in Zamfara state, next to Katsina, there is little hope of returning to his farm. He relocated to state capital Gusau after a violent attack on his village in May, abandoning his soybean and maize crops.

"Anyone caught there risks being kidnapped or killed," he said. 

By Ope Adetayo and Ahmed Kingimi, Reuters

Related story: Nigeria gunmen kill at least 25 in village raid, officials say

Nigeria Spends $600m Importing Palm Oil Annually

The National Palm Produce Association of Nigeria (NPPAN) says Nigeria spends $600 million on palm oil importation annually.

Alphonsus Inyang, the national president of the association, stated this in an interview with NAN yesterday in Abuja. He described the expenses as unhealthy for national development.

Inyang said the money could be saved and injected into the economy if the palm oil sub-sector was given due attention by successive governments.

The president regretted that Nigeria, which was self-sufficient in palm oil production in the past, now spends a huge amount to import the same product.

Inyang recalled that in the 60s, Nigeria was number one in palm oil production and exportation globally, controlling over 60 per cent of world palm oil.

He said that the reverse was the case at the moment as over 50 percent of what we consume is imported.

“At the moment, the country occupies the fifth position in the league of palm oil-producing countries after Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Colombia.

“Nigeria may even lose the position to smaller countries who are investing heavily in the sector.

“Indonesia occupies the first position, producing 50 million metric tons, Malaysia second with 19 million metric tons, Thailand 3.28 million and Colombia 1.9 million metric tonnes,” he said.

The president attributed the challenge to the neglect of the sector by successive governments.

Inyang said that based on the U.S. The Department of Agriculture, Nigeria currently occupies fifth position in the league of palm oil-producing countries with 1.5 percent or 1.4 million metric tonnes of the world’s total output.

“Nigeria was overthrown as the world’s largest palm oil producer and exporter by Malaysia and Indonesia in 1966.

“Currently, Nigeria is the largest consumer of the product in the continent, consuming approximately three million metric tons yearly.

“Domestic production stands at less than 1.4 million metric tons, leaving a deficit of over 1.6 million metric tonnes,’’ he said.

Inyang specifically called on the federal ministry of agriculture and food security, to support NPPAN members with seedlings to develop 250,000 hectares per year.

“Our members can plant up to 250,000 hectares per year through the association’s National Oil Palm Strategy Development Plan; all we want are inputs.

“The government does not need to give and develop land for us, we need seedlings, fertilisers, logistics and implements to close this gap within four years.

“We will also create new millionaires in 28 states of the federation,” he said.

Leadership

Related story: Video - Nigerian palm farmers eye lucrative opportunities in domestic market

Video - Price of ram skyrockets in Nigeria as Muslims mark Eid al-Adha

The country is facing its most expensive Sallah celebration in almost 30 years, as the price of ram hits a record high. The West African nation is experiencing its highest inflation rate, jeopardizing one of the most cherished rituals during Islam's Eid al-Adha - ram slaughtering.

CGTN

Related story: Video - Soaring fuel prices in Nigeria threaten agricultural prosperity

 

Video - Hike in number of malnourished children overwhelms health facilities in Nigeria

Doctors Without Borders reported that its Nigerian health facilities are dealing with severely malnourished children with life-threatening complications. The group says the number of admitted cases doubled in April due to violent conflicts.

CGTN

Related story: Video - Soaring fuel prices in Nigeria threaten agricultural prosperity