Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy

Olivier Ecker and Adam Kennedy, 2019. Transforming Agriculture to Improve Food and Nutrition Security in Nigeria, Food Security Policy Research Brief 99, East Lansing: Michigan State University.

Key Policy Recommendations

• Published child undernutrition rates for Nigeria, particularly at subnational levels, should be interpreted cautiously because of the poor quality of the underlying anthropometric data that are currently available.
• Priority should be given to the collection of high-quality data, necessary for effective policy and program design and implementation.
• It is fundamental that, in future surveys, measurement and standardization protocols for anthropometry and other nutrition and dietary variables are followed strictly, and survey design and implementation comply with international standards.
• The decline in real income that farm households experienced during Nigeria’s recent economic recession was associated with reduced household dietary diversity highlighting the importance of household income growth, as well as the important role of social protection programs to mitigate the impact of income shocks on food and nutrition security.