Nigeria - Stage 2
Major focus
The North East regional dialogue was a comprehensive exploration of the regions’ Food Systems along the five action tracks and levers of the UN Food Systems Summit. Participants conducted a thorough diagnosis of the food systems, including its functionality, major stakeholders, potentials, vulnerabilities, as well as opportunities for its transformation so that it can deliver high quality diet that is affordable, healthy, nutritious, inclusive, efficient, resilient, and sustainable; as well as able to meet the need of all actors of the food system. The dialogue observedthat the focus on agri
... Read moreculture value chain and food security resulted in anunintended consequenceof creating a less diverse food environment that is unable to provide needful food variety that are affordable, safe, and nutritious enough to meet the needs of all in the region. The region’s Food systems are noted to be under stress and shocks continually being disrupted as a result of the conflicts and insecurity. In addition, part of the region is threatened by climate change and stresses due to the impact of drought, flooding, erosion, inflation, the COVID-19pandemic, and conflict. Poverty, unemployment, and insufficient food reserves limit the capacity of the food systems to cope with shocks and stresses. The COVID pandemic has amplified the fragility, inequities and suboptimal functionality of the region’s food systems thus requiring significant transformations in polices, practices and business models that would make the food systems fit for purpose and enable the delivery of the most important functions rooted in robust evidence base, context and emerging regional, country global trends and realities. Most times, the vulnerable group in the region are the most affected by the challenge of food safety and the most nutritious foods are noted to have the most complicated challenge around safety. There are huge post-harvest losses in the region, where losses could be as high as over 50% of harvest and over 50% of waste generated in the region are classified as food waste within the food systems; we lose more than half of what we produce, and this comeswith significant impact on the environment. Inequality and power imbalances at the household, community, state and regional levels consistently constrainthe ability of the region’s food systems tosignificantly contribute to poverty reduction and sustainable, equitable livelihoods. Read less
Action Track(s): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Keywords: Data & Evidence, Environment and Climate, Finance, Governance, Human rights, Innovation, Policy, Trade-offs, Women & Youth Empowerment