Hunger Is not Always About Lack of Food; It is About Lack of Affordable Nutrition
You might find tomatoes in the market. You might even see rice in the stalls.
But for over 50% of Nigerians, buying enough nutrient-rich food to meet basic health standards is a fantasy they cannot afford.
This is not scarcity; it is economic exclusion.
And it is slowly killing the nation.
The Economic Anatomy of a Malnourished Nation
According to FAO and UNICEF’s recent food security analyses:
- The cost of a healthy diet in Nigeria is N3,400–N4,500 per person per day.
- The minimum wage is around N70,000 monthly (~N2,300/day).
- Inflation rates, especially for food, crossed over 40% in early 2025.
- Rural households spend up to 70% of their income on food, often falling short of nutritional needs.
Bottom line: Eating well in Nigeria is a luxury item, and most people are priced out of health.
What Is a “Healthy Diet,” and Why Can’t Nigerians Afford It?
The FAO defines a healthy diet as one that:
- Meets energy needs.
- Provides all essential nutrients (macros and micros).
- Is safe, diverse, and sustainable.
But let us get local: in Nigeria, a proper daily diet ideally includes
- Fruits (oranges, mangoes, bananas)
- Vegetables (amaranth, spinach, carrots)
- Proteins (fish, beans, chicken, eggs)
- Complex carbs (yam, brown rice, millet)
The monthly cost of such a diet for an average family of five is over N500,000, nearly 8 times the minimum wage.
Systemic Drivers of Unaffordable Diets
Let us rip the band-aid off and look deeper:
- Inflationary Food Chains: Transportation bottlenecks, fuel price surges, and middlemen monopolies inflate prices beyond logic.
- Poor Agricultural Productivity: Nigeria’s farm yields are among the lowest in Africa due to poor input access, outdated methods, and policy inconsistency.
- Neglected Nutrition Policies: Despite several national plans, actual budget allocations to nutrition interventions are tiny compared to the scale of the problem.
- Income Inequality: People experiencing poverty are getting poorer, and most household incomes cannot keep up with soaring food prices.
Making Healthy Diets Affordable Again
Agricultural System Transformation
- Subsidize nutritious food crops (vegetables, legumes, fruits), not just cereals.
- Invest in rural road networks to cut transportation costs.
Food Price Monitoring and Control
- Establish real-time food price dashboards for transparency.
- Set up community-level food reserves to buffer shocks.
Nutrition-Sensitive Social Protection
- Link cash transfer programs explicitly to food security and diet quality outcomes.
- Expand school feeding programs to include micronutrient-rich foods.
Fiscal Policy Leverage
- Remove import duties on essential healthy foods that are scarce locally.
- Offer tax incentives for private sector players producing or importing affordable, nutritious foods.
If Food Is Medicine, Then Nigeria Must Rethink the Prescription
Until a healthy diet becomes affordable for the average Nigerian, our ambitions for better health, education, and productivity will remain out of reach.
Nutrition is not just a health issue; it’s the bedrock of human development.
A nation cannot thrive when its people are undernourished.
Making nutritious food accessible to all isn’t an act of charity; it’s a strategic investment in Nigeria’s future.
