The prices of essential food items are rising beyond the reach of Nigerians and this situation is deepening hunger and dragging more people into poverty.

Last year, the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown affected local food production and farm output, leading to economic instability and loss of jobs.

Loss of means of livelihood for many Nigerians and slashed salaries for others have reduced their ability to buy basic food items, heightening hunger and thwarting cash transfer initiatives of the Nigerian authorities to households and businesses.

Nigeria’s inflation rate has been galloping since last year and rose to a three-year high of 18.17 per cent in March 202​1​, according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

On a month-on-month basis, the Headline index increased by 1.56​ per cent​ in March 2021, this is 0.02 per cent points higher than the rate recorded in February 2021 (1.54 percent).

Read More: https://bizwatchnigeria.ng/analysis-food-inflation-pushing-millions-of-nigerians-into-hunger-poverty/