Why Nigeria’s Food System Needs an Evidence-to-Policy Interface
Nigeria’s food security challenge is not solely a crisis of agricultural production, it is a crisis of decision-making under uncertainty. While food insecurity affects over 26 million Nigerians annually (Cadre Harmonisé, 2024), policy responses often arrive late, lack coherence, or fail to reflect real conditions on the ground. This is not due to a lack of information. It is due to a lack of translational infrastructure, the ability to turn complex, fragmented data into simplified, timely, actionable policy insights.
The Systemic Problem: Disconnected Evidence, Delayed Action
- Fragmented and Delayed Data
Key data on food prices, crop yields, rainfall, nutrition, and trade flows are collected by multiple institutions, from the National Bureau of Statistics to state-level agencies. However, this data is often:
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Released months after collection
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Published in non-machine-readable formats
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Siloed across platforms with limited interoperability
For example, retail market data from major cities is often published after seasonal policy decisions have already been made.
2. Reactive Policymaking
Without integrated, real-time evidence, food-related policy in Nigeria tends to be reactive rather than anticipatory. Whether it’s subsidy design, emergency distribution, or trade restrictions, decisions are frequently made without a robust picture of on-the-ground dynamics.
This lag in response leads to compounding effects: preventable price shocks, wasted budget allocations, and deepening public distrust.
3. Absence of Lived Experience in Policy Loops
Most national food policies are not informed by the lived realities of those most affected: smallholder farmers, market women, displaced families, and youth entrepreneurs in the agri-food sector. Their voices, and the informal data they carry, are routinely excluded from formal decision-making processes.
Our Solution: An Evidence-to-Policy Bridge
Food Security Insights (FSI) was created to respond to this gap — not by duplicating existing data systems, but by designing a curated interface between:
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Technical data and decision-ready analysis
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National statistics and local experience
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Policy windows and real-time signals
Unlike traditional dashboards or academic journals, this blog offers a nimble, interdisciplinary, and policy-responsive platform built on three principles:
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Accessibility: We simplify data for decision-makers using short explainers, data visualizations, and actionable briefs.
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Timeliness: We publish real-time insights aligned with policy cycles and seasonal trends.
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Humanization: We embed field voices and lived experiences into every narrative, ensuring that data is not divorced from context.
Our Framework: Systems Thinking Meets Evidence-Informed Policymaking
Our approach draws from systems thinking, recognizing that food insecurity is shaped by interconnected variables, from macroeconomic shocks to rainfall variability to political stability. We apply evidence-informed policymaking frameworks to ensure that insights are not just available, but also usable at the point of policy intervention.
This project is also a practical demonstration of the School of Politics, Policy and Governance’s vision: turning knowledge into transformation.
Our Competitive Edge
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Interdisciplinary approach: Blending data science, policy analysis, and narrative framing
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Agile publishing model: Fast, relevant, and responsive to evolving crises
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Platform for underrepresented voices: We elevate community perspectives in parallel with statistical analysis
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Policy loop feedback: Our outputs are designed for uptake by policymakers, media, and civic actors
From Signals to Solutions
In a country where food insecurity is compounded by institutional delays and fragmented data ecosystems, the absence of a translational layer is no longer acceptable. Food Security Insights exists to fill that void, not as a replacement for public systems, but as a catalyst for more coherent, evidence-based action. Because in the fight against hunger, timely insight is as important as food itself.