26 countries to face severe food crisis in 2025 – Report

At least 26 states along with Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are designed to face severe food and nutrition crisis between June and August 2025.

This prediction, presented in October’s Cadre Harmonisé Report, indicates that at least 33.1 million people in Nigeria could be affected by food insecurity during this period. The forecast was based on the CH Analysis Report, which was launched in Abuja on Friday.

According to reports, the analysis was carried out by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Food Programme, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in Nigeria and other partners.

States identified as likely to be affected include Sokoto, Zamfara, Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Gombe, Taraba, Katsina, Jigawa, Kano, Bauchi, Plateau, Kaduna, Kebbi, Niger and Benue.

The report further warns that Cross River, Enugu, Edo, Abia, Kogi, Nasarawa, Kwara, Ogun, Lagos, Rivers and FCT may also face food insecurity.

Notably, the report states that this total includes 514,474 internally displaced persons in Borno, Sokoto and Zamfara.

About 25 million people in the 26 states and the FCT are facing food crises.

Kouacou Koffy, the FAO Country Representative in Nigeria and ECOWAS, stressed the need for immediate action and a coordinated strategy to address food and nutrition security in the nation.

He noted that through the collaborative efforts of the government, CH stakeholders and the international community, a significant step can be taken towards alleviating hunger and mitigating the hardships faced by the most vulnerable populations in Nigeria.

Koffy added: “With the concerted efforts of government, CH stakeholders and the international community, we can move closer to alleviating hunger and reducing suffering for Nigeria’s most vulnerable populations.

“We face unprecedented challenges affecting livelihoods and food and nutrition security at global, regional and national levels.”

Koffy said Nigeria is currently facing a number of challenges, including economic influences affecting the prices of essential crops and agricultural commodities, climate-related incidents such as floods and droughts, and insecurity issues.

He explained that the CH workshops aim to examine existing data on food security and its contributing factors to identify populations and regions vulnerable to food and nutrition insecurity within the nation.

He further noted that these workshops are also designed to recommend appropriate strategies to prevent or mitigate ongoing food crises.

He stated, “CH analysis is the most reliable and widely accepted early warning tool for humanitarian programming, food security and livelihoods response targeting, as well as for prioritizing development programs.”

Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Temitope Fashedemi, pledged the government’s commitment to apply the report’s findings to guide food and nutrition security programs in all states.

The CH focal person for the National Food Security Programme, Balama Dauda, ​​identified the key drivers of the food crisis as high food and non-food prices, floods and insecurity.