According to the International Monetary Fund, an excessive reliance on imported foods has made the food crisis that is currently afflicting Nigeria and other sub-Saharan nations worse.
The Washington-based lender claimed in a new research titled “Africa Food Prices Are Soaring Amid High Import Reliance” that staple food prices in sub-Saharan Africa increased by an average of 23. 9% in 2020 to 22—the highest level since the global financial crisis of 2008.
The region’s imports of major staple foods, according to the survey, were partially to blame. It also noted that there was a large pass-through of global food prices to local food costs.
Even though cassava and maize were primarily grown locally, it was noticed that prices in Nigeria had more than doubled.
The IMF claims that wars and natural disasters have an effect on sub-Saharan African staple food prices as well. Prices rose by an average of 4% after wars and 1. 8% after natural disasters, depending on the severity, frequency, length of time, and location of the occurrences.