According to the World Bank, the Niger coup d’état may increase pressure on the food markets in Nigeria and other West African countries.
The Nigerien coup d’état, according to the World Bank, increases the likelihood that seven million more people in the region will experience severe food insecurity. This is despite the fact that 3.3 million people already experience this during the lean season due to rising commodity and staple food prices.
In its September “Food Security Update,” the bank noted this. “The coup in Niger might add to the pressure on West African food markets,” it warned.
The Washington-based bank claimed that in August, food prices in Niger rose by up to 21% as a result of the economic and financial sanctions the Economic Community of West African States and the West African Economic and Monetary Union imposed on the nation.
It was noticed that this hampered the ability of low-income households to achieve their dietary requirements and gain access to food.
The World Food Programme must continue to provide food help because of the government’s low financial capacity to carry out its food assistance programme, yet access restrictions are preventing aid from being delivered.
Additionally, according to FAO, the upcoming farming season will be impacted by a lack of seeds and feed as well as high fertiliser prices, which will exacerbate food insecurity, which is anticipated to last beyond the lean season.
The number of individuals in Western and Central Africa who require food and nutritional assistance has increased from over 10.7 million in 2019 to almost 29 million in 2021 to more than 40 million in 2022 and 2023, according to the bank, which underlined the region’s ongoing food crisis.
It emphasised that 42.5 million people in Nigeria and other West African nations faced a food crisis or worse between June and August 2023.
“The main factors affecting food security are civil insecurity and conflict, which have resulted in forced displacement, climatic shocks, political instability, the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects, and the war in Ukraine, which has increased the volatility of prices for foodstuffs and other commodities and led to widespread inflation,” the report stated. The cost of imports and major staple foods is currently greater than it was during the same time last year.
