New Telegraph

Food insecurity hits 30% Nigerian households in June –NBS

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says 30 per cent of Nigerian households experienced severe food insecurity in June.

 

In its recently released COVID-19 impact monitoring report for last month, the bureau said the food security situation in Nigeria substantially worsened after the outbreak of the virus.

 

“About 30 per cent of households interviewed in June experienced severe food insecurity due to lack of money or other resources,” the report read.

 

“However, there was no significant in  crease in access to safety nets or other forms of support.

 

“The incidence of severe food insecurity in June 2020 was nearly three times higher than in July/August 2018 and nearly six times higher than in January/February 2019.”

 

The data office said it interviewed 1,820 households from the baseline and the data collected are representative at the national level.

 

Only 13 per cent of the households reported receiving food assistance while two per cent of households reported receiving a direct cash transfer.

 

Support from family and friends were also reported to have been affected as the share of households receiving remittances from within Nigeria decreased from 22 per cent in April/May to 18 per cent in June.

 

Stating the impact of the pandemic on businesses, the bureau said it gathered that 70 per cent of those involved in non-farm household businesses reported having difficulty selling goods and services.

 

“The most widely reported challenges faced by non-farm businesses are difficulty raising money (87 per cent of households owning non-farm businesses), difficulty buying and receiving supplies and inputs (77 per cent), and difficulty selling goods and services (70 per cent),” the bureau said.

 

“These challenges persist across both urban and rural areas. This suggests that both input and output markets continue to be disrupted by the COVID-19 crisis.”

 

The number of people who were not working in June was also reported to have reduced; a situation the NBS attributed to the easing of lockdown restrictions.

 

However, the incomes of such households were reported to remain at precarious levels; especially for those with a non-farm business. For households engaged in agricultural activity, 38 per cent had to modify their farming plans.

 

Out of this percentage, 52 per cent reported reducing the area they planted, 30 per cent planted crops that take less time to mature, and another 25 per cent reported delaying planting time.

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