Famine Early Warning Systems Network

Key Messages

• Recent increases in oil revenues are driving Nigeria’s economy out of recession gradually as major economic indicators continue to improve (increased foreign reserve levels and declining inflation). The 2017Q1 GDP also stood at -0.52 percent compared to -1.73 percent of 2016Q4. 

• The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) continued to restrict the availability of foreign cash reserves for importing certain products like rice, wheat, and sugar. These goods are particularly important for Nigerian consumers in the southern part of the country, who rely on them heavily to meet their food needs. This has contributed to limiting the availability of many essential goods in major southern markets. 

• With the protracted conflict and insecurity in the Northeast, local marketing basins that were once largely surplus-producing are now deficit, relying on imports of supplies of major staples from neighboring states and even from markets in northwest Nigeria. Most recently, insurgents’ activities in the Northeast have compounded the effects of the on-going lean-season, resulting in depleted stocks in the major reference markets. A recent assessment found that current stock levels are very limited and only expected to last a few months. 

• Prices for white maize, an important staple food in the diets of vulnerable populations in the Northeast, are projected to increase further due to availability issues as the lean season peaks. 

• The revised cash transfer value from the harmonization efforts of the Food Security Sector Working Group, which covers 70% of urban and 100% of rural survival caloric needs, and the recommendation for active price monitoring, will ensure sustained purchasing power of food assistance beneficiaries. The regional price hike, however, is an additional burden on limited funding constraints faced by partners.