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FAO: Nigeria, others to experience food crisis in post-COVID-19

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has warned Nigeria and other countries to expect food crisis in post-COVID-19 following conflicts, weather shocks as well as effects of the pandemic on global agriculture. In a quarterly crop prospects and food situation report yesterday, the UN food agency stated that some countries, including Nigeria, should expect high level of severe insecurity on food in 2020/21. The FAO report said conflicts and weather shocks remained critical factors underpinning the high level of severe food insecurity in countries requiring external assistance for food as the pandemic is also having wide ranging and severe effects, particularly through loss of income. The report also offered a special feature with regional roundups of the pandemic’s impacts.

Despite these issues highlighted by the FAO, it, however, stated that Nige-ria and others in Africa should expect new recordhigh global cereal production and comfortable stock levels for 2020/21. The FAO explained in the report that the global cereal harvest was on track for growth in all regions, except for Europe, adding that cereal production in Africa in 2020 was projected to increase by 1.0 per cent, although declines are expected in northern, western and central regions of the continent.

FAO’s forecast for the aggregate cereal output of low-income fooddeficit countries in the 2020/21 season stands at 492.7 million tonnes, which is 6.0 per cent above the average and would mark a fifth consecutive annual production increase. FAO said: “However, populations are growing even faster and the overall cereal import requirement for LIFDCs is estimated at 73.4 milion tonnes, up around five per cent from the previous year, which also reflects production downturns in several countries.”

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