The World Bank has predicted that economic hardship and insecurity will worsen in six states of the federation until May 2024, News About Nigeria reports.
The global bank revealed this in its latest ‘Food Security Update’.
It disclosed that the affected states include, Borno, Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto, Yobe, Zamfara and the far north of Adamawa State.
According to the World Bank, the continuous insecurity, armed conflict, and deteriorating livelihoods will continue to affect these local government areas in Nigeria.
The World Bank noted that one of the leading causes of this hardship remains the low output of agriculture, which, according to it, is a result of the poor macroeconomic conditions that are restricting access to agricultural inputs in the country.
It further revealed that other countries expected to contribute to the decline in agriculture are Chad, Mali and Niger.
According to a report from the Bretton Woods institution, there has been a decline in food production, which began last year in Chad, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria, noting that the reduction in the production of food in these countries can be attributed to the dry spells that were encountered during the growing season, in addition to insecurity that limited access to cropland in Chad, Mali, and Niger and also poor macroeconomic conditions that have restricted access to agricultural inputs in Nigeria.
The World Bank also noted that many low- and middle-income countries battled with high inflation between August and November, with inflation higher than 5 percent in 61.9 percent of low-income countries, 76.1 percent of lower-middle-income countries, 50.0 percent of upper-middle-income countries, and 57.4 percent of high-income countries.
