The Nutrition Society of Nigeria (NSN) has attributed the rising cost of staple food in Nigeria to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the insecurity in the country. President of the Society, Prof. Wasiu Afolabi, who stated this at a press conference as part of the annual scientific conference in Enugu, said soaring food prices have striking consequences on hunger and malnutrition.
Prof. Afolabi lamented that by the growing food prices, Nigeria would be competing with India that has a large number of poor people who cannot be fed adequately. According to the NSN boss, there is a need for the government to ensure food price stability before the country blossoms into acute hunger and malnutrition which are deadlier than diseases. He said: “Soaring food prices have striking consequences on hunger and malnutrition. Nigeria being Africa’s most populous nation with over 210 million population competes with India for the largest number of poor people in the world.
“Nigeria has experienced the double economic impact of low global oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic. Food prices have increased more than 22 percent since the start of the coronavirus crisis, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. “The rising inflation has adversely affected the profitability of producers and is a major contributor to the low export penetration of made-in-Nigeria goods in the international market. There is an urgent need to ensure price stability before the situation becomes deplorable.