Nigeria

From 2010-2020, Nigeria experienced a sharp rise in violence propagated by the jihadist group Boko Haram in the northeast region and escalating inter-group conflict between farmers and Fulani pastoralists in the north-central region. Boko Haram’s violent attacks led to states of emergency in both 2011 and 2013; and while that group has dominated the news, conflicts between Fulani pastoralists and settled agricultural communities are often more deadly.

Creating opportunities to more effectively link farmers in Africa south of the Sahara with local, regional, and global markets has become a key development focus in recent years. However, questions remain about the impacts that increased agricultural commercialization may have on household food consumption and food and nutrition security. A recent article in Food Security examines such impacts in Ghana, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe and finds both positive and negative trade-offs to increased market integration.

Africa south of the Sahara has continued to face alarmingly high levels of acute food insecurity in 2024, according to the Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) Mid-Year Update. This includes populations in IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe) food insecurity in Sudan, South Sudan, and Mali, with famine plausible in some areas of Sudan.

As in previous years and reported in the April release of the GRFC, conflict, extreme weather events, economic shocks, and forced displacement of large populations have driven worsening food and nutrition security outcomes across the continent.

The UN estimates as many as 2.2 billion people worldwide do not have access to clean, safe drinking water. As rising global temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and a growing global population put additional pressures on this critical natural resource, water insecurity will likely become an even more important determining factor in global and regional conflict. In a recent paper in Food Security, researchers examine the role of water insecurity in two other related challenges: food insecurity and dietary diversity.

Extreme weather events and the long-term impacts of climate change pose a major risk for Africa south of the Sahara, threatening agricultural production and economic growth and hindering efforts to reduce poverty and food insecurity. Climate-smart agricultural practices (CSAPs) can help farmers better adapt to and mitigate these risks; however, the adoption of such practices in the region remains low.